David Obey: “In 1938, the Congress passed legislation which established a series of milk marketing orders which, in essence, had the…”

“In 1938, the Congress passed legislation which established a series of milk marketing orders which, in essence, had the government setting prices for fluid milk based on where that milk was manufactured in the country. That made sense in 1938 when we did not have refrigeration, we did not have quality highways; it does not make sense today. It simply encourages overproduction, and it costs the taxpayer, and it hurts the consumers, and it hurts a lot of farmers in a number of regions around the country. In the 1985 farm bill, Congressman Coehlo was instrumental in making a legislative change to that provision in law, first time that the Congress had interfered up until that time. Whatever differentials were provided for a Class I pricing were provided by administrative decision on a neutral basis. But that 1985 law added to the differential, and it raised the cost of milk products in a number of sections around the country. As a result, today a farmer in Florida is required by law to receive $3 more per 100 pounds of milk than a farmer from my neck of the country is.”