U.S. Dairy Producers Okay FMMO Changes

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced a final rule amending the uniform pricing formulas applicable in all 11 Federal Milk Marketing Orders.  The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, January 17th.  The amendment changes included returning the base Class 1 skim milk price formula to the higher-of the advanced Class 3 or 4 skim milk prices.  The Class 3 and 4 make allowances are now 25.2 cents for cheese, 22 cents for butter, 24 cents for nonfat dry milk, and 26 cents for dry whey, all on a per-pound basis.

USDA also removed the 500-pound barrel cheddar cheese prices from the Dairy Product Mandatory Reporting Program Survey.

The skim milk composition factors are updated to 3.3% true protein, 6% other solids, and 9.3% nonfat solids, with a six-month implementation delay.

The rest of the new rule will be effective June 1st.

The final rule follows a 49-day national hearing held from August 23rd, 2023, to January 30th, 2024, in Carmel, IN, where AMS heard testimony and received evidence on 21 proposals from the dairy industry.  AMS issued a recommended decision on July 1st, 2024, followed by its publication in the Federal Register on July 15, 2024, which began a 60-day public comment period.

A total of 128 comments were received, analysis of which was included in a final decision that was issued on November 12th, 2024, and published in the Federal Register on December 2nd, 2024.

Click Here to read the entire final rule.

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