House Agriculture Committee Reviews Dairy Policy in Harrisburg

HARRISBURG, Penn. – Today, Congressman Tim Holden hosted Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota and members of the House Agriculture Committee in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a hearing to review dairy policy challenges and opportunities.

"I'm thankful that Chairman Peterson and members of the House Agriculture Committee made the trip to Pennsylvania to hear first hand of the challenges facing our family dairy farmers." Congressman Holden said. "Today's hearing helped assure a strong Pennsylvania and Northeast voice as we continue our look at federal dairy policy for the next Farm Bill."

"As regional and complex as the U.S. dairy industry is, I think we can all agree that the safety net for dairy farmers is not working, and we need to consider new ideas that could provide better security for our nation's dairy producers," Chairman Peterson said. "The Agriculture Committee has held several hearings on this issue over the past year, and I have asked representatives from all parts of the dairy industry to come together and consider new policy directions as we begin to look for options in the next Farm Bill."

Witness list and written testimony is available on the Committee website at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.

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