California Dairies of Visalia will begin working together with Land O’Lakes and Dairy Farmers of America on draft language of a federal order that would bring dairy producers in the state out of California’s challenging milk pricing system.
The latest effort follows the release of a five-month long study commissioned by the three dairy cooperatives showing how California dairies would benefit from entering a federal milk marketing order that could result in higher farm gate prices.
Currently, the price of dairy in the state is set by the California Department of Food and Agriculture as opposed to the rest of the country, which is on a federal system.
Last month, six Central Valley lawmakers, including Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), introduced legislation that would open a door for California dairy producers to enter the federal milk marketing system.
Dairy operators have complained for years that the current state system sets the price of milk too low compared to other states and does not provide a buffer against rising feed costs and other expenses.
If the legislation passes, California’s dairy producers will be able to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture for entrance into the federal system. A two-thirds vote of state industry members will then make that a reality.
Together, California Dairies, Land O’Lakes and Dairy Farmers of America account for 80 percent of the milk produced in California.
California is the country’s top producer of dairy, producing about 41.5 billion pounds of milk in 2011.
Source: TBJ
