Specter-Casey Bill s.889 - Explained

            The Specter Casey Bill-S889 a good start to solving the current milk pricing system problems

·       Dairy policy that proactively controls supply. Monitors imports to prevent import abuse. Currently the CWT, which I support, is like putting out a fire all the time and it doesn’t have 100% support among farmers.  Also, it eliminates some farms unnecessarily and it doesn’t stop import abuse.

·       Bill – s.889 pays farmers based on a National Average Cost of Production and with a Class I differential to maintain local fluid milk supplies. This cost of production data is well documented and is calculated monthly by the federal government. This eliminates wiggle room for greed at the farmer’s expense and the farmer can pay his bills.

·       If an oversupply of milk is determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.  Farms that over produce based on their previous year’s production will receive a price equal to one half of the National Average Cost of Production on the extra milk.

·       If manufactures wish to import MPC to increase cheese supply when cheese price drops, they will have incentive not to over produce cheese because raw milk prices will remain stable regardless.  They can refuse the local milk and we as farmers will gladly pay the higher balancing costs to get out of this trap.  Move the milk where it is needed stop over producing cheese.

·       The Secretary will also keep track of imports and exports to determine oversupply.

·       The Secretary is allowed to do this with up to 5% of total milk supply.  The money is collected and it is pooled to control supply in very humane ways.   Enhancing programs for the poor or school children.  This is paid for by farms that created the over supply not the government.  

·       Young Farmers will get a chance with this program because dairy lenders will sense decreased risk and there is a 3million lbs exemption for their first year’s milk.

·       Consumers that I have talked to, want farmers to be able to pay their bills and produce their food from clean environmentally friendly facilities.  Today, all farms are challenged to achieve this goal from a milk check.  Equip Grants are a life saver on most large farms.  Barns are falling down and manure problems are on the rise.

·       The current MILC Program could be eliminated and this new policy will only cost the government money through administration and not handouts.

·       Dairy farmers will compete more fairly between regions.  For example, California has basically fueled its growth in milk production by leveraging equity from sky rocketing appreciation of land values.  Not from getting rich from their milk check and currently these real estate values are crashing down to reality. Growth will cease. However, the Northeast’s milk Production remains flat with only consolidation of small farms to larger ones.  But currently we are told by our coops that markets want dairyman to produce more milk in the Northeast near population centers again.  Capital is too hard for most young farmers to obtain and older farmers don’t want the risk.  So growth in production remains stagnant.  This will frustrate coops and manufactures.  New manufacturing facilities with run lower than capacity without growth were its needed.

·      If you really think about these common sense issues this bill is a win win for all I can’t find anything wrong with it.  Be honest with yourself and think about what is a fair market. Do not be too proud to admit that what we have today is not a fair free market system and it is broken.  We need to promote THIS from the GRASS Root’s.  IT’S Time for real change and I need your help to do it!  It can happen just look at our new president he did it.

Call your Congress person or Senator today!!  Support the Specter-Casey bill S-889. This bills passage needs help from consumers also, to insure a healthy dairy food supply before the foundation crumbles!   Bryan R Gotham blcgotham@yahoo.com  315-405-6456 call for ideas to help.