October 1, 2009
US agri commissioners table plan for dairy, pork and poultry
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) has put forward a plan to take extra dairy, pork and poultry supplies off the market, stabilising prices paid to producers while making more protein-rich foods available to food banks, school lunch programmes and other food assistance programmes.
Agriculture Commissioners across the US drew up the proposal which was designed to use money previously authorised by Congress.
The proposal calls for the government to purchase dairy products in up to three installments of 75 million pounds each over 120 days.
If the target price of US$16 per hundredweight of milk - the production cost - was reached before the second or third installment, the purchases would stop, said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
The proposal also asked for the purchase of up to three installments of 100 million pounds of pork products over 180 days until a target price of 49 cents per pound - the average production cost - is reached.
The plan also includes a one-time purchase of 100 million pounds of turkey.
Troxler said major action is needed quickly as dairy farmers nationwide are suffering greatly, with bankruptcies and foreclosures happening at an alarming rate.
The USDA has been buying pork but it is not enough to boost prices paid to farmers, he said.
Troxler added that the proposal "Meat the Need" provides the impact the dairy and pork industries needed, and it is fiscally sound and flexible enough to respond to changing market conditions.
