The National Milk Producers Federation’s Board of Directors unanimously endorsed a proposal to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order system at its March meeting. The Federation says the move caps more than two years of discussion and more than 130 meetings on different aspects of the proposal. The plan to reinvigorate the FMMO system that guides milk pricing reflects an industry that’s evolved significantly since the last comprehensive revamp in 2000. “We’re moving forward on a comprehensive FMMO proposal the entire industry can get behind,” says Randy Mooney, chair of the NMPF’s Board of Directors. The proposal includes several changes to the FMMO System, including returning to the “higher-of” Class 1 mover. The federation also proposes discontinuing the use of barrel cheese in the protein component price formula. They also want a new process to ensure make-allowances are reviewed more frequently by requiring USDA to conduct plant-cost studies every two years.
