Collins, King urge federal milk pricing system review

File photo / Jim Neuger The United States has lost nearly 60% of licensed dairy operations since 2003, U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, note in a letter to the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

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By Renee Cordes

Maine's two Senators are calling for a review of the federal milk pricing system they say leaves many of Maine's small and mid-sized dairy farmers at risk of inadequate pay.

Those concerns are voiced in a letter to Gene Dodaro, the U.S. controller general and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office signed by U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, along with four of their colleagues from both major political parties.

The other signatories are Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire; and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, along with U.S. Rep. Roger W. Marshall, R-Kansas.

A GAO review would help modernize the milk pricing system and make sure it is working in the best interests of all farms regardless of size, the policymakers write in their letter, dated Sept. 28 and released Monday.

The move comes after the number of U.S. farms licensed to sell milk fell from 70,375 in 2003 to 29,858 in 2021, a reduction of 58%, according to the letter. In Maine, the number of licensed dairy farms has dropped from around 190 in 2021 to around 168 today.

"We would like to ensure that the [Federal Milk Marketing Order System] Program is being administered in a manner that counts for the interests of smaller-scale operations, particularly in the regions of the country that are dependent on smaller-scale farms to provide stable and adequate supplies of milk," the letter says.

"We would also like to ensure that the FMMO Program is being administered in a manner that does not cause undue burden and cost for state dairy regulatory and support programs that maintain the viability of small-scale farms."

A reform bill introduced by Collins last year and co-sponsored by King, the "Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act," would allow producers to weigh-in on any potential changes in calculating prices and additional policy proposals that would have a direct impact on their business.