Mike Crapo: “I rise to introduce the Milk Forward Contracting Act, a bill to make permanent the dairy forward pricing pilot program.…”

“I rise to introduce the Milk Forward Contracting Act, a bill to make permanent the dairy forward pricing pilot program. Without question, dairy producers are subject to a very fickle dairy market. Dairy prices can go from all time highs to all time lows over a course of a year, making long-term planning extremely difficult. This legislation will ensure the continued availability of an important risk management tool for dairy producers and enable their long-term business planning. Over the past 4 years, dairy producers and processors have been able to voluntarily enter into agreements for the sale of a specific volume of milk for a set price over an established period of time through the dairy forward pricing pilot program. Many producers in my home State of Idaho and nationwide have used this voluntary program to reduce marketing risk by securing stable prices. Unfortunately, this program expires in December of 2004, and dairy producers want to be able to continue to utilize this program. Forward contracting is a very useful tool for dairy farmers.”