Patrick Leahy

When I became Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee I was sitting in a room for a day, having the whole Federal order pricing explained to me. I was then committed to an asylum for several months to recover.

One of your major concerns is that cheese prices are below the support price for much of the year, but no product was removed from the marketplace.

What happens if those standards are relaxed? What happens if the label no longer means what it means today?

I think one of my proudest achievements in the Senate was when I wrote the Organic Foods Production Act back in 1990.

The Vermont Milk Commission, and I mentioned you being a member of that, and Secretary Allbee running it, has the Commission recommended changes to Federal policy?

But how are they being affected? Is that lending going to continue?

Do they have a quota system?

We extend our gratitude to Senator Leahy and the Federal delegation for these hearings and thank you for providing responsible leadership.

The matter of antitrust, being pursued by Senator Leahy and Senator Sanders, Ms. Varney and Dr. Glauber, is of vital importance to our industry.

I see the enormous difference between having the hearing in Washington and having it here.

As Senator Sanders has pointed out, it may go to enormous profits and enormous salaries to people who own a conglomerate.

I think Secretary Vilsak has made it clear that he wants to work with Congress to get the dairy industry through this very tough time.

Would the Department consider extending the current price levels beyond October?

The dairy price supports are going to expire at the end of October, next month.

All antitrust legislation comes before the Judiciary Committee.

I remember all the pressure we got from the administration in 2002 to strip out the competition title which we had put into the Farm Bill of 2002.

I know on the MILC program, just in Vermont, the part I wrote in on the feed adjustment, that is about $15 million into Vermont.

He demonstrated a real crisis. He actually took some very quick steps and he responded.

I too, am aware of the controversy surrounding the previous administration.

I would like very much, once those workshops have been completed, if perhaps you could arrange to have your office come up and give a briefing for my office.

In New England, we have a situation, as Senator Sanders has pointed out, where one distributor is responsible for the purchase of more than 70 percent of Northeast dairy production.

I want to build a hearing to let policymakers in Congress and the Federal agencies hear directly from the farmers.

We need both short-term solutions to get out of this crisis, but we need some long-term solutions to make sure we don't return to the tumultuous cycle of volatility.

I continue to be disappointed at the past administration. The Justice Department and the administration allowed it to happen.

It has been easy for many Americans to take American dairy farmers for granted.