PALM DESERT, Calif. – "IDFA commends the Farm Bill conferees for their hard work, and we congratulate them on reaching a compromise that represents historic reform of our nation's dairy policies. The agreement establishes a new margin insurance program for dairy farmers, which was included in both the House and Senate bills, and rejects the effort to have our government limit milk supplies. This is a major step toward moving our dairy industry away from the failed agriculture policies of the past and toward policies of the future that will enable our entire industry to grow and capture new markets.
"The conference report is good news for consumers of dairy products who will not be forced to pay unnecessarily higher prices, and good news for dairy farmers who will receive an effective and efficient safety net to help them through hard times, without our government telling them how much they can produce. The conference report rejects a proposed new regulatory burden on dairy food manufacturers and will allow dairy companies, particularly those that are now exporting about 15 percent of the milk produced in this country, to continue to grow and create thousands of new jobs."
Read the Farm Bill conference report here.
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 180 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.
Source: International Dairy Foods Association
