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YEARLY P R I O R I T I E S

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Advocacy Areas

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative is a consistent voice for policies that will help advance dairy farming throughout the U.S. We monitor economic, regulatory and legislative developments at the state and federal levels that could affect our farmers. We partner with other national and regional dairy advocacy groups so we can pool our influence for positive changes. Here are some of the issues on which we work Advocacy Areas Dairy
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Climate and Environmental Regulations

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Advocate for science-based, farmerguidedenvironmental policies.

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Policies should be market-driven and flexible to foster farm-level innovation.
Dairy farmers have always been leaders in caring for the environment and they continue to lead in addressing changing climate conditions. We believe environmentally focused policies affecting agriculture should be guided by farmers, grounded in science, driven by the market and sufficiently flexible to allow for innovation at the farm level.

 

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2024 Farm Bill

Overarching principles: Federal dairy programs can greatly affect our farmers’ ability to earn a living. Farmers want to utilize the tools our government provides for success, but it is important these programs are judicious with our farmers’ and the nation’s resources. Ultimately, federal dairy policy should serve all sizes and types of dairy farms in order to utilize various tools within the marketplace for sustainable farm businesses. Edge opposes any payment limitations and program participation limits based on farm size.
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Support federal dairy programs to sustain farmer livelihoods.

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Advocate for judicious use of resources in federal dairy policy.

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Promote inclusivity for all sizes and types of dairy farms.

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Accurate Dairy Product Labelings

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Accurate representation of dairy products is crucial for consumer trust.

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Enforcement of existing labeling laws is necessary to prevent misleading claims.
Dairy products are safe, wholesome and nutritious and should be accurately represented to customers as such. While there is room for a variety of products in the marketplace, it is wrong to mislead customers. Some non-dairy imitations violate existing labeling laws.
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Milk Pricing Reform

Federal Milk Marketing Orders are in need of updating to reflect flexibility and fairness in the current system. A regional approach to accommodate geographic differences in milk markets would provide flexibility. Transparency and a set of contracting principles would make the pricing system fairer and more equitable while also building confidence in the system for both farmers and processors. The Class III plus proposal is the preferred solution to update the Class I mover.
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Update FMMO for flexibility and fairness.

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Implement regional approaches to accommodate geographic differences in milk markets.

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Advocate for transparency and fair contracting principles in milk pricing systems.

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Accurate Dairy Product Labelings

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Focus on increasing dairy exports.

Focus on increasing dairy exports.
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Stabilizes prices and boost income for U.S. farmers.
U.S. dairy farmers are the most efficient in the world at providing safe and wholesome dairy products to meet the growing nutritional demands around the globe. And, increasing dairy exports to existing and emerging markets ensures higher and more stable prices for our farmers.
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Reliable Workforce

Dairy farmers need access to a practical agricultural workforce visa to address critical workforce shortages. Unfortunately, there currently is no way for farmers to protect their existing workforce or any practical process to hire new foreign workers who are legally authorized to work.
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Establish a practical agricultural workforce visa for dairy farmers.

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Ensure protection for existing foreign workers on dairy farms.

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Streamline hiring processes for new foreign workers to meet dairy industry needs.

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