Modesto, Calif., (April 4, 2018) – USDA released the long awaited final decision for a California Federal Milk Marketing Order today. The potential differences between the final decision and USDA’s draft recommended decision from February 2017 had been a source of speculation in the industry for many months. Exactly how different was the final decision from the previous version? The answer is: it was exactly the same! Ta-da! Those who attended WUD’s convention got to hear about the basics of USDA’s draft recommendation, which also apply to the final decision. Now that we know this is what we will be looking at for a vote, more analysis will be conducted to determine the potential impact for producers around the state. Specifically, WUD will host three informational sessions on April 16 (Petaluma), April 17 (Modesto) and April 18 (Tulare; details below). The analysis presented will be performed by two independent experts who do not come with any agenda about persuading attendees one way or another. The emphasis will be on education and answering questions. USDA will also host a session in Clovis on April 10 to highlight the mechanics of the program.
USDA will conduct a referendum among dairy producers to determine whether they support the proposed FMMO; this referendum will be held from April 2, 2018 through May 5, 2018. The FMMO will become effective if approved by two-thirds of the voting producers, or by producers of two-thirds of the milk represented in the voting process.
Dates and locations for WUD’s meetings to discuss the economic impact of the CA FMMO:
- Monday April 16th 10am Sonoma County Farm Bureau (3589 Westwind Blvd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403)
- Tuesday April 17th 9am Stanislaus County Harvest Hall (3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, CA 95358, Training Room Center DE)
- Wednesday April 18th 10am Tulare Agri-Center, (4500 South Laspina Street, Tulare, CA 93274, Social Hall)
Refreshments will be served each meeting. RSVP’s are greatly appreciated: molly@westernuniteddairymen.com, or (209)527-6453
