Herb Kohl: “I am pleased to help lead the effort to put the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program on equal footing with other…”

“I am pleased to help lead the effort to put the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program on equal footing with other counter-cyclical income support programs in the farm bill. The MILC program provides critical support to dairy farmers when prices are low. When dairy prices rebound, as they have in recent months, it makes no payments to dairy farmers and the government spends nothing. For thousands of family-sized dairy operations across the nation, the MILC program has meant the difference between bankruptcy and survival. Unfortunately, the program as authorized in the last farm bill will come to an end in September, 2005. As many of my colleagues will recall, the MILC program was established after an extremely painful debate over dairy compacts. I remain resolutely opposed to dairy compacts or any scheme that further exacerbates regional discontent in dairy. Extending the MILC program to the 2007 Farm Bill--rather than reopening rancorous regional warfare over dairy--seems the only prudent course of action. This proposal is a bipartisan and national approach that will provide stability and predictability in an otherwise volatile industry. I encourage my colleagues to support this effort.”