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Ag Committee hears top dairy issues

An Illinois dairy farmer wants the next farm bill to fix three serious problems. Boyd Schaufelberger with Holstein Association USA told the House Ag Committee about the difficulties of hiring farm help.  He said, “Immigration, the labor issues that are probably at the forefront of dairy farmers across the country, and then the regulations as far as hiring dairy workers.”  And, Schaufelberger says keeping part-time workers under 30 hours a week didn’t help.

He says dairy relies more on foreign trade. “It’s important that we work out the trade issues with our neighbors to the north and to the south.”

And like many other farmers, he says the Dairy Margin Protection Program needs changes to make it work.  “Both in how the milk price is determined that would reflect the hauling charges that the farmer has to pay for and then also that feed price is adequately reflected in that formula as far as the margin.”

Schaufelberger addressed the House Ag Committee’s farm bill hearing in Decatur, Illinois.