Attention Farmers who have suffered losses from PPDs- Your Immediate Action is Needed

Ask your Senator to co-sign Senator Gillibrand's letter allocating Secretary Vilsack to distribute additional direct payments to dairy farmers

A short-term solution is immediately needed to address the devastating net check amounts that farmers have received and continue to receive due to negative PPDs.

Industry discussions are underway to address the FMMO Milk Pricing formula inequities. Farmers cannot wait for lengthy hearings or for the next Farm Bill fix, which could take many months or even years to complete the proper process.

Please contact your federal Senators ASAP and ask them to sign on to the below letter which will be sent to Secretary Vilsack asking him to provide immediate financial relief.

Your Senator should contact Dominic Sanchez at Senator Gillibrand's office ASAP! The deadline to sign on is the end of business day on Thursday to be included in this crucial initiative.

Email address: Dominic_Sanchez@gillibrand.senate.gov

Click Here for Sen. Gillibrand's Letter

Talking Points

The new Class I pricing method was included in the 2018 Farm Bill. Dairy farmers were not at the table, and most were unaware of this devastating change to how they are paid.

Massive volumes of de-pooling decreased dairy processor costs and increased their financial wherewithal at a devastating loss to dairy farmers' pockets (Explain how the negative PPD impacted you).

Legislators set a dangerous precedent when they eliminated the USDA's milk pricing formula which was the "higher of Class I" formula and replaced it with a new formula in the 2018 Farm Bill without input from dairy farmers. They also failed to properly research this new formula through a USDA transparent hearing process. This procedure undermined the Federal Order's purpose.

This change has disrupted orderly marketing, undermined the purpose of Federal Orders, created real net losses for farmers not based on “the market” and has interfered with the ability of farmers to protect their costs of production through risk management tools. Current available risk management tools for dairy farmers were not designed to perform under the conditions influenced by the new Class I pricing formula. Farmers saw their milk devalued, but also found they paid for risk management that failed because it was aligned with a “market value” they did not receive.