CHILTON, Wis. — The American Dairy Coalition (ADC) has commented at the Federal Register formally requesting that USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) extend the public comment period on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for mandatory manufacturing cost and yield surveys tied to Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) make allowances.
The current 30-day comment window, set to close March 30, is insufficient for a rulemaking that will directly impact milk pricing formulas and dairy farmer income nationwide, according to ADC’s filing.
“This is not a routine rulemaking. The way USDA designs these surveys will shape future make allowances, and the actual revenue dairy farmers receive in order to cash-flow their dairy businesses,” said Laurie Fischer, ADC CEO. “Farmers need time to be informed and participate with meaningful input to ensure accuracy and transparency.”
ADC’s request for extension highlights several issues that warrant additional time for review, notably insufficient public notice for a short-window comment period on something so important, as well as statutory uncertainty.
Call to action: Farmers are urged to submit comments ASAP!
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Suggested comment (copy/paste/edit):
I am a (fill in your description as dairy farmer or other) and I am requesting that USDA extend the comment period for Doc. No. AMS-DA-25-0585 Mandatory Manufacturing Cost Survey—Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) by at least 60 days. This rulemaking affects federal milk pricing and farmer income, with current make allowances already reducing returns by about $4.50 to $5.10 per hundredweight. Dairy farmers have no ability to set prices with consumers and no built-in make allowance to cover basic costs. Most farmers were not aware of this rulemaking announcement in time, and we need adequate time to review it.
You can also state that you support American Dairy Coalition’s formal request that USDA extend the comment period.
