
Last week, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service issued a final decision proposing to amend the uniform pricing formulas applicable in all 11 federal milk marketing orders (FMMO's).
FMMOs establish minimum milk prices so dairy farmers are paid fairly for milk based on end-use in four categories:
Class I: fluid milk
Class II: milk for soft products like ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt
Class III: milk for hard cheese
Class IV: milk for butter and powdered milk products
Following a public comment period, the decision makes the following changes to July’s proposal:
Reduction in the delayed implementation of the revised skim milk composition factors from 12 months to six months
Inclusion of a $0.0015 marketing cost factor in all make allowances
A modification to the methodology used to determine the nonfat dry milk make allowance
Limited changes to certain county-specific Class I differentials
Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will conduct producer referendums in the 11 federal orders. Producers whose milk was pooled on an order in January are eligible to vote in favor of or in opposition to the order as proposed to be amended in the final decision.
USDA will mail ballots to eligible independent producers and qualified cooperative associations. In order to be counted, ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31 and returned by Jan. 15, 2025.
USDA will also hold three webinars about the proposed amendments and producer referendum process on November 19th at 11AM, November 21st at 3PM, and November 25th at 11AM. A link to access the webinars will be provided in advance on the AMS hearing website.
The final decision follows a 49-day national hearing held from Aug. 23, 2023, to Jan. 30, 2024, in Carmel, Indiana, where AMS heard testimony and received evidence on 21 proposals from the dairy industry. AMS issued a recommended decision on July 1, 2024, followed by its publication in the Federal Register on July 15, 2024, which began a 60-day public comment period. The public comment period ended Sept. 13, 2024, with 128 comments received and reviewed by AMS.