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National Dairy Farmers Fairness Act
Due to the failures of the federal order reform process and the lack of a meaningful dairy price safety net, Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and I have introduced the National Dairy Farmers Fairness Act of 2001. This bill is an appropriate and necessary response to the ongoing regional milk pricing inequities and the dairy income crisis affecting all producers.
In the past, the divisive and controversial dairy compact system has hindered Congress's efforts to achieve a fair
and equitable national dairy policy. I am pleased to join with Senator Santorum and reintroduce this legislation to create a
regionally equitable plan that will provide a price safety net for small-and medium-sized producers regardless of location.
The National Dairy Farmers Fairness Act of 2001 has two major goals: 1) To create a dairy policy that is equitable for
farmers in all regions of the country; and 2) Provide stability for dairy producers in the prices they receive for their milk. To accomplish these goals, this legislation creates a price safety net for farmers by providing supplemental income payments when
milk prices are low. A "sliding-scale" payment is made based upon the previous year's price for the national average for Class
III milk. In essence, the payment rate to farmers is highest when the national Class III average is the lowest. To participate in
this program, a farmer must have produced milk for commercial sale in the previous year. Payments under the program are also
capped for the first 26,000 hundredweight of production. Again, all dairy producers would be eligible to participate under this scenario.
It is time that we establish an on-going program providing
supplemental income payments to farmers when milk prices decline. This important legislation represents a bipartisan and national approach in providing predictability and price stability in
this otherwise volatile industry.
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