The U.S. Department of Agriculture began hearing testimony Aug. 23 regarding proposals to amend the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. Now reconvening in week nine of testimony, 21 submitted proposals continue to be discussed and examined by the USDA and dairy-industry stakeholders. Testimony on category five, which covers Class I and II differentials, is currently being heard. Many dairy and farmer organizations argue that the current values used in Class I milk differentials are long overdue for an update based on changes in milk-market production characteristics and changes in delivery costs, and the Farm Bureau has taken a lead in advocating for increasing the Class II milk differential.
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Daniel Munch
Daniel Munch is an associate economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Market Intel. Visit www.fb.org/market-intel for more information.





