What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to hold national hearings to review how the federal government sets milk prices, specifically for Class I skim milk (the lowest grade classification of milk). The bill also requires dairy product manufacturers to report information about their processing costs and product yields to help inform future pricing decisions.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of Agriculture, dairy farmers and producers, dairy industry representatives, and dairy product manufacturers.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Agriculture must announce and start national hearings within 180 days of the bill becoming law to review federal milk marketing orders and consider views from dairy producers and the industry about Class I skim milk pricing (Sec. 2(a)).
• The hearings must specifically examine the "higher of" Class I skim milk pricing formula, which is a method for calculating milk prices based on specific regulatory formulas (Sec. 2(a)).
• Dairy manufacturers who report information about one product must report cost and yield information (the amount of product made from raw materials) for all products made in the same facility (Sec. 3).
• The Secretary must publish a report containing dairy product processing cost information no later than 2 years after the bill becomes law and then every 2 years after that (Sec. 3).
What Changes
If this becomes law, the federal government will hold hearings to examine how milk prices are set for the lowest grade classification. Dairy manufacturers will be required to share more detailed information about their production costs, and the Secretary will publicly report this information regularly.
Important Definitions
Class I skim milk: The lowest grade classification of milk used to determine federal pricing (a type of milk with fat removed).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1756
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate hearings to review Federal
milk marketing orders relating to pricing of Class I skim milk, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 23, 2023
Mr. LANGWORTHY (for himself, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi,
Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. MEUSER, Mr.
WILLIAMS of New York, Mr. STEWART, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, and Ms.
TENNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate hearings
to review Federal milk marketing orders relating to pric-
ing of Class I skim milk, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dairy Pricing Oppor-
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tunity Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. NOTICE AND HEARINGS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
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date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture
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•HR 1756 IH
shall provide notice of, and initiate, national hearings to
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review Federal milk marketing orders under section 8c(3)
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of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(3)),
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reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing
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Agreement Act of 1937, which shall include review and
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consideration of views and proposals of producers and the
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dairy industry on the Class I skim milk price, including
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the ‘‘higher of’’ Class I skim milk formula described in
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subsection (b) and any other views and proposals on the
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Class I skim milk price, and such other matters as the
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Secretary of Agriculture considers appropriate.
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(b) ‘‘HIGHER OF’’ CLASS I SKIM MILK FORMULA
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DESCRIBED.—The ‘‘higher of’’ Class I skim milk formula
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referred to in subsection (a) is the formula under which,
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for purposes of determining prices for milk of the highest
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use classification, the Class I skim milk price per hundred-
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weight specified in section 1000.50(b) of title 7, Code of
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Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), is equal to
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the sum obtained by adding—
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(1) the adjusted Class I differential specified in
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section 1000.52 of that title (or successor regula-
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tions);
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(2) the adjustment to Class I prices specified in
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sections 1005.51(b), 1006.51(b), and 1007.51(b) of
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that title (or successor regulations); and
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•HR 1756 IH
(3) the higher of—
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(A) the advanced pricing factor computed
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under section 1000.50(q)(1) of that title (or
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successor regulations); and
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(B) the advanced pricing factor computed
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under section 1000.50(q)(2) of that title (or
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successor regulations).
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SEC. 3. MANDATORY REPORTING OF DAIRY PRODUCT
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PROCESSING COSTS.
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Section 273 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of
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1946 (7 U.S.C. 1637b) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (b)(1)—
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(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking
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‘‘and’’ at the end;
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(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the
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period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
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and
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(C) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(C) for each manufacturer required to re-
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port under subparagraph (A) for any product,
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require that manufacturer to report cost and
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yield information, as determined by the Sec-
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retary, for all products processed in the same
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facility or facilities; and
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‘‘(D) require any manufacturer of such
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other dairy products as determined by the Sec-
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retary to report cost and yield information in
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the same manner as under subparagraph (C),
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for the purposes of providing information for
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the regulatory or administrative establishment
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of pricing rules.’’; and
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(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the
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following:
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‘‘(3) DAIRY PRODUCT PROCESSING COSTS.—Not
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later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
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this paragraph, and every 2 years thereafter, the
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Secretary shall publish a report containing the infor-
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mation obtained under subparagraphs (C) and (D)
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of subsection (b)(1).’’.
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Æ
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