Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) establish certain provisions under which dairy processors purchase fresh milk from dairy farmers supplying a marketing area. Edge asked Glen Rieck and Corey Freije from Federal Order 30 to help members better understand the Orders.

• Four classes of milk: Class I is fluid milk; Class II is yogurt, ice cream and cream cheese; Class III is hard cheese; and Class IV is butter and nonfat dry milk. The classes are in decreasing degree of perishability and thus the lowest price class is where surplus milk can be processed into products that can be stored.
• Only Class I processors are required to pool all the milk physically received at their plant. Processors primarily producing Class II, III and IV products choose whether to participate in the pool, and often do so when it is financially advantageous.
• The flow of money with the Federal Orders to and from processors and for farmers: Handlers who receive a payment from the pool then use that money to pay their farmers the Federal Orders minimum price on their pooled milk receipts. This pooling and distribution of market-wide revenues provide for all dairy farmers whose milk is pooled to receive the same minimum value regardless of how their milk is utilized.

U.S. dairy farmers are the most efficient in the world at providing safe and wholesome dairy products to meet growing consumer and nutritional demands around the globe. Increasing dairy exports to existing and emerging markets ensures higher and more stable prices for our farmers. Edge urges a greater focus on negotiating new trade agreements that include market access and expansion of standard U.S. terms of trade with key partners. We also believe that international trade and global food security depend on healthy multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization and encourage continued U.S. leadership within those organizations. As we expand our reach to international customers, we must ensure existing trade agreements are implemented as intended. Protecting products from anti-competitive trading practices that obstruct our ability to export must be a priority.

Dairy products are safe, wholesome and nutritious and should be accurately represented to consumers as such. Nutritionally inferior plant-based products wrongly labeled as milk, cheese or ice cream are ubiquitous on grocery store shelves. While there is room for a variety of products in the marketplace, it is wrong to mislead consumers. In fact, a national survey co-commissioned by Edge found that one-quarter of consumers mistakenly thought plant-based cheese products contained milk. Some of these non-dairy imitations violate existing labeling laws. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must enforce the law so consumers are protected and dairy farmers are not unfairly disadvantaged. Lawmakers should support legislation ensuring that FDA takes action to enforce existing labeling requirements and uphold existing dairy product standards, such as the previously introduced Dairy PRIDE Act.

Dairy farms face a shortage of workers and have come to rely on immigrant labor to fill crucial job openings. Unfortunately, there is no way for farmers to protect their existing workforce or any practical process to hire new foreign-born workers who are legally authorized to work. The current agricultural visa program is outdated and only permits seasonal employment and excludes dairy. A multi-year, renewable agricultural worker visa that includes dairy is needed for year-round activities like dairy farming. This new visa should include a component to ensure legal status for all existing workers and a provision to allow for the simple recruitment of new foreign-born workers as needed. Edge supports efforts to open the H-2A visa program to year-round workers, specifically including dairy as eligible to participate and provide a pathway to legal status for the existing on-farm workforce.

Clean water and resilient farms can go hand in hand. Edge is committed to working with our farmers and like-minded groups to protect and improve water quality, the environment and the future of agriculture. We believe dairy is quickly moving toward a place where farmers can monetize these improvements. Not only do efforts to improve water quality and the environment help create resilient farms, but these initiatives also build trust and goodwill within the communities where our farms operate.

Current FMMO regulations require a third-party verification of weights, tests and samples for all pooled milk. Farmers who are part of a cooperative utilize the certified testing services of a company of the cooperative’s choosing. Farmers that ship directly to private processors utilize a certified testing cooperative or USDA to meet the requirements of the Federal Order regulations. Like ensuring timely payments, we believe dairy farmers should have the confidence and transparency with their buyers that accurate weights and tests are used to calculate milk payments.

Under current FMMO regulations, processors must pay their farmer patrons at least twice monthly if milk is pooled. With the current market pressure on Federal Order 30 and potentially other orders, Edge proposes extending this protection, regardless of the federal order or pooling status, as a nationwide requirement for all handlers as is currently required in federal orders. Dairy farmers should receive timely, consistent payments for their milk so they can maintain their business operation, regardless of where they sell their milk.