The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has submitted a plan to USDA to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. The plan is the product of two years of work and more than 150 meetings with various stakeholders.

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern say dairy farmers need a modernized Federal Milk Marketing Order system that works better. He says that by updating the pricing formulas to reflect better the value and high-quality products made, rebalancing pricing risks that have unfairly shifted to farmers and creating a pathway to reflect processing costs ahead better, NMPF is “excited to submit this plan as a path toward a brighter future for dairy.”

Dairy farmers nationwide have strongly supported the proposal, which USDA now has 30 days to review. The next step would be a federal hearing to enact the proposed changes.

Read more on the Federal Milk Marketing Order system overhaul here.