As U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) moves "daily electronic price reporting for dairy" forward to the Senate ag appropriations committee this month, DPAC is working with lawmakers on the House side for a parallel appropriations. This already has the support of many House and Senate Ag Committee members; however, we need to reach out to members of the Ag Appropriations Subcommittees to tell them how important improved price discovery is to the dairy industry. During meetings with USDA last Thursday, DPAC learned the price tag to implement section 1510 of the current farm bill (daily electronic reporting with quarterly auditing) is a modest $600,000 for startup and $1 to $2 million per year, primarily for the quarterly auditing. The current weekly NASS Survey is audited annually.
Check this list for members of the House and Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittees who represent your state or district, and send them a letter, or make a phone call, or schedule a meeting with one of their staff. Share these summary points with them and provide additional background information with copies of these articles:
For questions or for more information about congressional support for daily electronic reporting, please call DPAC at 800.422.8335 or email the coalition's correspondence secretary, Sherry Bunting, at agrite@ptd.net
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