This week, Congressman Leonard Boswell, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, held a hearing to review the Federal Milk Marketing Order rulemaking procedures. The Federal Milk Marketing Orders were established in the 1930’s to make sure that milk, which is a highly perishable product, reached consumers at a fair price and in a time sensitive fashion. Periodically, the Agriculture Committee reviews the order rulemaking procedures to make sure they are keeping up with new product development and dairy production.
“After hearing much of the testimony, there is consensus throughout the dairy industry that the rulemaking procedures take too long. We must ensure that the process is quick and efficient, and represents what the dairy market in 2007 looks like. As we approach the 2007 Farm Bill, we will be looking at different proposals to change the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, perhaps creating a commission to look at ways to streamline the system,” Subcommittee Chairman Boswell said.
“The industry faces some fairly cumbersome hurdles, both administrative and legislative, that only serve to hamper efforts to improve the orders for all participants. It is clear that the government needs to be a facilitator, and not an impediment, to ournation’s dairy farmers and today’s hearing reemphasized that there is a consensus among the industry that more needs to be done. Since dairy is the only Farm Bill program that this subcommittee has jurisdiction over, I look forward to working with them as we move forward in this process,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Robin Hayes.