Congressional dairy farm caucus reconvened

The Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus has been reformed and reactivated in view of the critical situation facing U.S. dairy farm families. The caucus is made up of more than 50 members of the House of Representatives who represent districts from California to Vermont and from Washington to Florida.

The caucus was created during the 110th Congress in advance of the most recent farm bill. Caucus members worked together on getting a feed cost adjuster added to the MILC payment formula in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Now reconvened, the caucus will continue to serve as a mechanism to build consensus on legislation impacting the dairy industry. It also will serve as a means to educate members of the House and their staffs on issues of concern to the industry. The caucus will work with industry leaders, dairy economists, and, most importantly, farmers and processors to reach common sense bipartisan solutions to address the current dairy crisis.

“Congress bailed out the Wall Street banks because they were ‘too big to fail’. If we don’t act now to support our dairy farmers, aren’t we saying they are ‘too small to matter’?” asked caucus co-chair Peter Welch (D-Vt.). “Only by working together across regional and party lines will we be able to help dairy farmers survive in the short term and help the dairy industry thrive in the long term.”

Other caucus co-chairs include Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), and Tim Walz (D-Minn.). Caucus vice chairs include Tom Petri (R-Wis.), Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), Chris Lee (R-N.Y.), and Harry Teague (D-N. Mex.).