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In this tough economy, which is so hard on dairy farmers, it is more important than ever that we recognize their contributions this June as we celebrate Dairy Month.
Today, with low farm-level milk prices threatening the well-being of our family farmers, Congress must take action to support these farmers and the rural communities in which they live.
To that end, during Farm Bill debate I worked with a number of my colleagues, including Sen. Herb Kohl and Rep. Dave Obey, to extend and improve the Milk Income Loss Contract program, which was designed as a safety net to help farmers in economic circumstances just like these. Besides restoring the payment rate, I was pleased that the program included a new provision provide higher payments when costs are higher. On April 1, USDA began distributing payments through the MILC program, including an estimated $25 million to $30 million for approximately 10,400 dairy operations in Wisconsin.
All year long I also have been pressing the federal government to use all the tools at its disposal to help dairy farmers weather this economic storm. In January, I joined Sen. Kohl to lead a bipartisan effort to work with the Obama administration to support dairy farmers as the prices farmers receive for milk have fallen as much as 50 percent since last year. While there is no silver bullet, the USDA responded to my effort with Sen. Kohl in January by quickly implementing one of our suggestions to shift surplus dairy products to school lunch and nutrition programs.
The USDA implemented another suggestion in May when it agreed to fully utilize this year’s allocation for the Dairy Export Incentive Program in order to help level the playing field for U.S. dairy exports.
I have also continued my longstanding efforts to improve competition in the dairy industry. The issue of most immediate concern is that the low prices farmers are receiving for their milk are often not being fully translated into lower prices for consumers. This situation is often linked to lack of competition and is not fair to either consumers or farmers.
I pressed the new assistant attorney general for antitrust on this issue, among others, and she committed to make agriculture a priority and to order a thorough review of the farm-retail dairy price disparity.
Finally, I am pushing for the Treasury Department to require bailed-out banks to restructure farm loans as an alternative to foreclosure, similar to a requirement they already have for home loans. If the government is going to help lending institutions with bailouts, those institutions should be doing what they can to help keep all Americans in their homes, including farmers where their farm loans often are also associated with their homes.
I included a provision with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in a recently enacted housing bill to require a prompt review of the alternatives for such a program and will continue to push for it to be established.
I hear from Wisconsin dairy farmers about the many challenges they face each month as they balance their checkbooks. I’m dedicated to helping ease their burdens during this economic downturn. I’m also proud this month to pay tribute to these hard-working Wisconsinites for resilience, their determination and their countless contributions to the state of Wisconsin.
Russ Feingold is the junior senator from Wisconsin.
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