U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, announced Tuesday that he will co-sponsor legislation to promote market stability in the dairy industry. Arcuri made the announcement during a visit to the Cooperstown Holstein Corp. in Cooperstown, according to a media release from his office.
Arcuri will join Rep. Jim Costa of California in sponsoring the Dairy Price Stabilization Act, H.R. 5288, when the legislative session resumes in September.
According to the release, the bill will allow dairies to maintain their production levels, or to expand production and increase their shares of the market. Dairies increasing their market share would pay a fee, which would go into a fund to help other dairy farmers who do not expand.
A producer board of directors would be established to advise the secretary of Agriculture on any necessary adjustments to program operations. The bill empowers farmers by allowing them to vote on whether to enact the program in the first place and, three years after it commences, to vote on whether to continue it.
"Our local dairy farmers cannot afford another year of low milk prices that still do not meet their cost of production," said Arcuri, a founding member of the Congressional Dairy Caucus. "By working to better aligning supply and demand, this legislation cuts right to the heart of the milk price volatility issue that resulted in such low prices in 2009 and that continues to drive our family farms deeper and deeper into debt."
If we do not act now to prevent future dairy crashes, I fear our dairy farmers will hit their breaking points, putting an entire industry at risk _ something the upstate New York economy cannot afford."
Local News
Arcuri to sponsor bill to stabilize dairy prices
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