Hearing set for state milk quota proposal

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will hold a public hearing Aug. 15 on proposed changes to the state milk quota implementation plan, or QIP.

Two public forums will be held this month ahead of the hearing to allow dairy farmers to learn about the proposed amendments. Producers interested in sharing their opinions about the proposals will be able to do so at these events. The department will then formally compile the input at the hearing.

The hearing will start at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Join by http://us02web.zoom.us/j/84248601086. Meeting ID: 842 4860 1086. Passcode: 4^5WBjb*. To join by telephone, call: 1-669-444-9171. Same meeting ID. Passcode: 04670783.

The in-person public forums will be held: Aug. 8, 10 a.m., Stanislaus County Ag Commissioner’s Office, Harvest Hall, Room D and E, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Suite B, Modesto, and Aug. 9, 10 a.m., Tulare County Ag Commissioner’s Office, 4437 S. Laspina St., Tulare.

Forum participants are allowed 20 minutes to speak. Hearing participants have 15 minutes for their testimony.

There are four proposed changes to the QIP, three of which are to be considered together. They are: reducing the current quota premium payout from $1.70 per hundredweight (0.195 per pound of solids-not-fat) to $1 per cwt. (0.115 per pound of SNF); eliminating the regional quota adjusters; and clarifying the language about “hardships” by adding details that were part of the former pooling plan.

The fourth proposed change consists of rewording the definition of “producer” to enhance clarity.

For the full text of the proposals, go to www.cdfa.ca.gov/dairy/notices.html and click on Notice of Public Forums and a Public Hearing Related to Proposed Changes to QIP.

Producers will get to vote on the proposed changes in a referendum. CDFA has said it anticipates mailing ballots later this month.

Questions about the meetings should go to Alka Ram at 916-900-5012. For questions about quota or mechanics of the referendum, call David Ko at 916-900-5012.

Established in 1969, quota entitles dairy farmers who own it additional revenue for their milk. In recent years, some dairy farmers have led efforts to terminate the state quota program.