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Wisconsin’s Dairy Business Association has written to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, urging them to support margin insurance for dairy farmers without tying it to a supply management program. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees are expected to take up the Farm Bill again and on the topic of dairy policy reform, there are two options to choose from, the Dairy Freedom Act and the Dairy Security Act.

The Dairy Business Association (DBA) continues their work to oppose the supply management provision called the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP) outlined in the Dairy Security Act which may be part of the farm bill scheduled to be taken up by the House Committee on Agriculture this month. The DBA was pleased to learn of the bipartisan efforts from numerous members of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation who sent a letter to the House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson this week opposing the DMSP.

The Dairy Business Association (DBA) leadership met today with Speaker of the House John Boehner in his Capitol office to convey the opposition to a supply management provision in the upcoming farm bill.

The Dairy Business Association is urging Members of the House Agriculture Committee to support the bi-partisan compromise dairy legislation offered today by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA). The Goodlatte-Scott compromise offers dairy producers margin insurance protection without requiring them to accept milk check deductions that would be collected by USDA. The bill also doesn’t require dairy farmers to pay new administrative fees to USDA, unlike what was proposed by the House Agriculture Committee last year.

Goodlatte-Scott Shown to Offer Effective Risk Insurance without Supply Management - Dairy economists from leading universities Monday released a new study that compares the short-term impacts for dairy farmers of two dairy safety-net programs now being debated in Congress -- the Dairy Security Act (DSA) and the Goodlatte-Scott amendment to DSA.

At 6:30 tonight the Town of Pierce in Kewaunee County (6061 County Road D, Algoma) will be holding a meeting to discuss a proposed ban on the use of center pivots as a method for manure application. DBA will be in attendance to provide the Town with information on this misunderstood farming practice.

Dr. Marin Bozic of the University of Minnesota presented research yesterday that shows the Dairy Security Act is even more concerning to dairy farmers than previously reported. Last week, Bozic confirmed that the proposed alternative of stand-alone margin insurance without supply management controls, is more fiscally responsible, more sensitive to farm-level decision making, and brings considerably less government intrusion.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated the score for the 2013 Farm Bill and found the Dairy Security Act (DSA) in the House of Representatives, which includes a supply management program, will now cost an additional $441 million dollars over ten years.

To: Members of the Wisconsin State Legislature, Fr: Wisconsin Safe Milk Coalition. On behalf of the state’s highly-respected medical and public health communities and the many thousands of Wisconsin residents directly dependent upon the success of the state’s $26.5 billion dairy industry, we strongly urge you to not support legislation permitting the sale of unpasteurized (raw) milk in Wisconsin. The reason for our strong opposition to any possible legislation is that it is impossible to make unpasteurized (raw) milk safe.

The Dairy Business Association's 8th Annual Expansion Symposium and Trade Show was held on February 19 and 20 at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay. Nearly 500 people attended the event, which included a wide variety of presenters who addressed the issues that affect Wisconsin's dairy business. Trade show displays throughout the symposium gave vendors the opportunity to showcase their products and services and allowed dairy producers to see the latest industry trends and innovations. Despite the treacherous winter road conditions, the event had an excellent turnout. Throughout the extended hours of exhibit floor period were hors d’oeuvres, special activities and chances to win extraordinary prizes.