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Klobuchar Calls for Additional Aid for Dairy Farmers

Says Minnesota's dairy farmers face dire conditions

September 15, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Speaking at an event outside the U.S. Capitol, Senator Amy Klobuchar highlighted the plight of dairy farmers in Minnesota and around the nation, saying that more must be done to alleviate the crisis.  Klobuchar spoke about a farm she visited in Foley, Minnesota over the weekend, recounting a story about how tough the market has made it for the young farmer to make ends meet. 

As a result of the economic crisis, the dairy industry is struggling to survive during this difficult time of low commodity prices, unusually high costs and a drop-off in international demand.   Klobuchar specifically called on the Agriculture Appropriations Conference Committee to adopt Senate language that would add $350 million in funds for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to enable it to increase the level at which the government buys surplus dairy products off of the market.  Over the last several months, Klobuchar has advocated for a host of actions to help dairy farmers get through the crisis.

“Minnesota’s farmers are at the heart of our agriculture industry,” said Klobuchar.  “The dairy farmers I’ve met with around the state are bearing the brunt of market forces beyond their control.  We must continue to fight for Minnesota’s farmers during these difficult times”

Klobuchar was joined at the event by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union.  A dairy cow from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was also present at the event.

In August, the Senate passed a measure Klobuchar cosponsored to provide additional relief to dairy farmers struggling with plummeting dairy prices.  The amendment, which Klobuchar sponsored with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with $350 million in additional funds to enable it to increase the level at which the government buys surplus dairy products off of the market. Buying surplus dairy products off of the market will reduce supply and increase prices.  This change in prices would add approximately an additional $1.50 per hundredweight to the farm gate price.

In July, Klobuchar sent a letter with Vermont Senators Pat Leahy and Bernie Sanders asking Secretary Vilsack to temporarily boost price supports for dairy farmers.  She then met with Secretary Vilsack, and soon after that meeting, the USDA raised the federal price supports effective August 2009 through October 2009, increasing farmers’ revenue by $243 million.

In May, after working with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Agriculture, Klobuchar announced that USDA would launch a program to help dairy exporters compete with world prices, which are kept artificially low through subsidies.

In February, she joined with other Senators to send a letter to Secretary Vilsack asking him to take action to help stabilize prices and protect Minnesota’s farmers from the rapidly declining milk prices.  Then, at a White House Middle-Class Task Force meeting in St. Cloud in March, Klobuchar strongly urged the Agriculture Secretary to provide help to Minnesota dairy farmers as soon as possible.  Shortly after the meeting, Klobuchar announced that USDA would create a program to purchase dairy products from the market and provide them to food shelf programs in order to stabilize prices and boost demand, effectively leveling the playing field for U.S. dairy producers.


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