Immediate
Action Needed to Urge Secretary of Agriculture to Include Two Critical Provisions
in the Final Regulations of the National Dairy Market Loss Payment Program The
National Grange Will Send a Letter to Secretary Veneman to Request Her Immediate
Attention to This Issue. Please
Review the Attached Letter Below and Have Your State Grange Join in Signing on
it By 3:00pm EDT on Thursday July 18, 2002! The
Honorable Ann Veneman
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. 20250
Dear Secretary Veneman: We
the undersigned are writing to request your urgent attention to including two
critical provisions in the final regulations governing the administration of the
National Dairy Market Loss Payment Program - Guidelines
allowing multiple 2.4 million annual production cap approvals.
- Selection
procedures of months for producers to receive counter-cyclical deficiency payments.
The
first provision involves the definition of a dairy operation for the purpose of
determining if a farm qualifies for more than one 2.4 million-pound annual production
cap. Many of our multi-family farms technically operate under a single milking
facility in order to keep expenses down and to maximize efficiency. But, more
important, each family shares in the management, labor and risk of the operation
and each family's income depends on the composite milk sales generated. Therefore,
we urge the Department to allow such dairy operations to qualify for additional
annual production caps provided they demonstrate that more than one family or
business partner derives it's primary income from the farm. Whether or not the
dairy farm has a single milking facility should not be the determining test. Secondly,
given the fluctuating nature of milk prices over the past several years, it is
important that dairy producers be allowed to select those months in which they
wish to receive market loss payments. This will help significantly to improve
dairy farm income and provide help when it is most needed. This would allow for
a truly counter-cyclical payment program We
appreciate your attention to these issues and look forward to working with you
on the implementation of this important program. Sincerely, Action
Plan --- Please contact The National Grange Legislative Department by 3:00pm
EDT on Thursday, July 18 to have your State Grange Participate In the Joint Letter
to USDA Secretary Veneman Supporting the Annual Production Cap and Optional Payment
Selection Provisions of the National Dairy Market Loss Payment Program. Please
e-mail your responses to Chil-Sook
Hwang or send your response by fax to the Legislative Department at 202 347-1091.
Thank
you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program.
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