Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the Committee-
Thank you for holding this hearing to discuss important dairy policy issues in advance of the 2023 Farm Bill. I wanted to use this opportunity to introduce Committee members to the Midwest Dairy Coalition and inform you about the policy positions of the Coalition.
The Midwest Dairy Coalition is an alliance of dairy cooperatives representing dairy producers in eight Upper Midwest states on federal dairy policy issues. The Coalition collectively represents nearly 5600 dairy farms, or about 19 percent of the dairy farms in the nation. On a regional basis, the Coalition’s membership represents a majority of the dairy farms in the Upper Midwest and provides an effective and useful forum for dairy organizations to discuss, debate and propose common policy action dealing with the everchanging federal dairy issues of the day.
Member organizations include Associated Milk Producers Inc., Bongards Creameries, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, First District Association, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, and Rolling Hills Dairy Cooperative.
The Midwest Dairy Coalition has taken strong policy positions on a wide array of federal policies affecting dairy farmers and their markets. While not all our policy recommendations are within the jurisdiction of the House Agriculture Committee, we believe it is important for the Committee to see the cross-cutting issues affecting dairy farmers and their cooperatives.
