Minnesota Farmers Union

St. Paul (February 24, 2009) - Minnesota Farmers Union's Full Board of Directors, which consists of all of its county presidents, recently met and passed a Special Order on the dairy industry.

The Special Order states that because of catastrophic low prices and high input costs the nearly 5,000 Minnesota dairy farmers are facing, the following should take place:

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) should use existing authorities to release a combination of food commodities and funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and Section 32;
• The USDA should maximize the utilization of the Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) to stimulate international demand of the eligible commodities;
• The USDA should more effectively implement the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP) to restore stability and clear oversupplies in the market;
• The USDA should consider additional dairy purchases for distribution through the USDA commodity-based nutrition programs;
• Congress should immediately hold hearings on the status of dairy farmers and their industry;
• Congress should examine the Canadian dairy system;
• The USDA should move to expedite the delivery of Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) payments; and
• The USDA should raise the dairy floor price up to trigger CCC payments.

"Considering the dairy industry contributes millions of dollars and jobs to the State of Minnesota, there should be a lot more concern over the dire straits the dairy industry is going through right now," said Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President.  "Our Board of Directors knows the difficulty of dairy farming, and is seeking immediate relief for the dairy farmers of Minnesota."