For Immediate Release – April 30, 2010

PDMP Makes the Producer Case In Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Ag Committee.

To read all the testimony at the hearing, click here.

Harrisburg, Pa -- Telling Congressional leaders that the dairy industry “isn’t looking for a handout,” Rod Hissong, who is a dairy producer and Immediate Past President of the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania (PDMP), concluded forceful testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee by saying, “I am here to ask for you to do the difficult work that needs to be done to fix a broken system.”

Hissong, who remains on the PDMP Board after serving in 2009 as President, received an invitation from the Committee to tell the dairy producer’s story in a special hearing on dairy policy held on April 20 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA. He described PDMP as a producer driven organization “that has a positive, can-do attitude” and explained to the Committee, “We like to look at long-term solutions instead of short-term band-aids…and we focus on things we can change instead of complaining about the things we can’t.”

He didn’t mince words making it clear that change was needed. “Many family farm dairies, my own included, have suffered financial hardships like never before. We are in a business that is demanding and requires a complete and total commitment. Why else would we have crawled out of bed this winter to milk the cows or deliver a calf? All that we have are our dairy operations. Many of us feel we are left to the mercy of a broken system.”

Referring to the PDMP position paper made public in September of 2009 and prepared during his Presidency, Hissong discussed what PDMP believes:

• In general, the dairy industry would be best served if the government stopped purchasing excess dairy products, many of which are not made to world specifications. “As long as the government continues to purchase our products, like butter, cheese and powder, that are not made to world specifications, the dairy industry will remain complacent and not change what it makes.”
• The Federal Order System needs to be overhauled. “The industry will be better in the long-term if we stop reliance on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and develop a more transparent pricing system that pays producers for what they produce and takes into consideration the cost of producing it.”
• The industry should be focused on economic growth rather than supply management. “We need to encourage our system to be developing new products and models that allow growth in the industry. . . Given the honest opportunity to compete on the world marketplace, the dairymen in the industry that can adapt and manage effectively will succeed.”
• Direct government payments are short-term solutions to long-term problems. “Continuation of programs that provide direct payments to farmers does not provide for any long-term relief . . . These funds would be better used to help provide long-term solutions and plans that help our industry compete on the world marketplace.”

In keeping with PDMP’s attention to growth options, Hissong brought to the committee’s attention that the demand is increasing internationally for better standards. He suggested “lowering of the somatic cell (SCC) limit to 400,000 is a win-win for everyone including farmers, processors and the consumer. It aligns us with international standards of milk quality, eliminates the lower quality milk from the market and is a positive move for our industry. International markets demand it and it is time we deliver.”

Hissong added that dairymen are also “desperately in need of a workable guest worker program for agriculture” noting that many Americans are unwilling to work the jobs that dairy farms, both large and small, have to offer. “While a comprehensive guest worker program may seem like a steep hill to climb,” he urged them to consider “a guest worker program for agriculture and dairy that would ease the burden on our food supply chain.”

To read Hissong’s complete testimony go to the PDMP website www.pdmp.org. Complete records of opening statements are on the House Ag Committee’s website: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/statements.html

In addition to Hissong, whose Mercer Vu Farms is in Mercersburg, producers testifying included Daniel Brandt of Brandt-View Farms, Annville; Kent Heffner of Jersey Acres Farm, Pine Grove; and Lauren Mosemann of Misty Mountain Dairy, Warfordsburg. Dairyman Ralph Moyer of Myerstown presented written testimony, but was not present.

Also testifying at the hearing were PA Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding; Center for Dairy Excellence Executive Director John Frey; Todd Rutter, President of Rutters Dairy in York; and Dr. Jim Dunn, Ag economics professor from Penn State.

The U.S. House Ag Committee was represented at this special hearing by Chairman Collin Peterson from Minnesota; Vice-Chair Tim Holden from PA’s 17th District; Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee Chair David Scott from Georgia; Randy Neugebauer from Texas; Leonard Boswell from Iowa; Kathleen Dahlkemper from PA’s 3rd District; and Glenn Thompson from PA’s 5th District.