FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2002

SCHUMER: NY DAIRY FARMERS TO GET COMPACT-LIKE BENEFITS FOR 1ST TIME EVER

Congress on the verge of passing a Farm Bill with national dairy plan that will send $76 million annually to NY dairy farmers over the life of the program

Senator calls Farm Bill "a major victory" for New York's dairy farmers

Congress is on the verge of wrapping up work on a Farm Bill that would provide new and unprecedented benefits to New York's farmers, including a dairy price support program comparable to the now-defunct Northeast Dairy Compact, US Senator Charles E. Schumer said today.

Schumer said the bill creates a national dairy support system comparable to the now-expired Northeast Dairy Compact, and will provide payments similar to what New York would have received had it been part of the Compact. Like the Dairy Compact, farmers will receive payments to make up the difference when Class I milk prices fall below $16.94 per cwt, however the federal government will provide the reimbursements. In the past, dairy processors – those who bottle and distribute the milk – made the payments that made up the difference to dairy farmers.

"After years of seeing our efforts blocked, we've achieved a tremendous breakthrough for New York's dairy farmers," Schumer said. "The Dairy Compact was my first choice, but this compromise is the next best thing. For the first time ever, New York's dairy farmers will get a dose of long-needed stability. This was a hard fight from start to finish, but Congress as finally come through for the state's dairy community."

The final details and cost estimates of the dairy plan still have to be approved by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO needs to analyze the entire bill to ensure that no provision forces it to exceed its $73.5 billion budget. Schumer said that while he "expects no problems, nothing is ever a done deal until the President's signature is on the bill." Congress could vote on final passage as early as next week.

According to the New York Farm Bureau, the size of the average New York dairy farm is about 100 cows. The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri projects that the average New York dairy farm stands to receive an average payment of $15,200 annually over the approximately three and a half year life of the dairy program – an average of $76 million annually for New York farmers statewide.
While the dairy program caps the benefits at 2.4 million pounds of production (an amount equivalent to the production of about 135 to 140 cows), Schumer said the producer definition is being written intentionally broad to ensure maximum coverage. A husband and wife team running a New York farm with 200 cows, for example, would each be able to sign up as an individual producer, ensuring that the entire farm would be covered.

"I want to give particular thanks to Senator Leahy of Vermont who really stood up for the Northeast's interests as the House and Senate worked out the differences in the Farm Bill," Schumer said. "Without his leadership and advocacy, New York's dairy farmers would be poised to receive these new benefits."

Schumer also said that the Farm Bill includes $17.1 billion for conservation programs, $4 billion less than what the Senate had approved but a significant increase nevertheless. A state-by-state breakdown of the programs is not yet available, but Schumer said the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (providing technical, educational and financial assistance to farmers to develop environmentally-friendly farming practices, such as animal waste management), the Farmland Protection Program (allowing the government to purchase development rights to productive farmland to make sure it remains in agricultural use and cannot be commercially developed) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (giving technical and financial assistance to farmers who develop and improve wildlife habitats on their lands) will all receive considerable funding in the final bill.

Schumer said he was frustrated that provisions in the Senate-passed version of the Farm Bill to create a "cost of production" insurance program for specialty crop farmers was eliminated from the final version of the Farm Bill.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that some of the conservation and specialty crop provisions didn't make the bill's final cut, but legislating is the art of the possible," Schumer said.

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Click here to read more about Chuck's initiative to put "Vendi-Milk" in New York State Schools.