NMPF announced today the formation of a new task force to examine Federal Milk Marketing Orders and changes for the future. Results are expected in early of 2008.
Approximately 66% of the nation’s milk is priced under the regulations of the Federal Order system, which was established to ensure consumers an adequate supply of fluid milk, and to prevent the economic predation of individual dairy farmers by setting regional minimum prices.
The new NMPF task force will allow the organization’s members to provide input on ways to improve how the system functions, with the ultimate goal of advocating long-term solutions before Congress and/or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Federal Order system.
The task force will review the functions performed currently under the ten Federal Orders, including classified prices, regional pooling, monthly minimum prices, and data reporting, and how those functions might be improved. The task force will also compare Federal milk orders to state pricing regulations, such as the system used in California, the nation’s largest dairy state, and to areas where there are no pricing regulations at all, such as Idaho, the 4th-largest dairy state.