What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to hold hearings within 180 days to review how the federal government sets milk prices, specifically for Class I skim milk. The hearings will consider different pricing formulas and ideas from milk producers and dairy companies about how milk prices should be determined.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of Agriculture, milk producers, dairy industry companies, and dairy product manufacturers.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Agriculture must provide notice and start national hearings within 180 days to review federal milk marketing orders related to Class I skim milk pricing (Sec. 2(a))
• The hearings must include consideration of views and proposals from producers and the dairy industry, including a "higher of" pricing formula that uses specific federal regulations (Sec. 2(a) and 2(b))
• Dairy manufacturers must report cost and yield information for all products processed in the same facility or facilities to the Secretary (Sec. 3)
• The Secretary must publish a report containing dairy product processing cost information every 2 years, starting no later than 2 years after this law passes (Sec. 3)
• The Secretary can require manufacturers of other dairy products to report cost and yield information to help establish pricing rules (Sec. 3)
What Changes
Federal requirements for how milk pricing hearings are conducted and what information dairy manufacturers must report to the government about their processing costs will change.
Important Definitions
The bill defines "higher of" Class I skim milk formula as a specific calculation method using federal regulations and pricing factors, but does not define other key terms.
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1014
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 28, 2023
Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition, and Forestry
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-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dairy Pricing Oppor-
4
tunity Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. NOTICE AND HEARINGS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
7
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture
8
shall provide notice of, and initiate, national hearings to
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•S 1014 IS
review Federal milk marketing orders under section 8c(3)
1
of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(3)),
2
reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing
3
Agreement Act of 1937, which shall include review and
4
consideration of views and proposals of producers and the
5
dairy industry on the Class I skim milk price, including
6
the ‘‘higher of’’ Class I skim milk formula described in
7
subsection (b) and any other views and proposals on the
8
Class I skim milk price, and such other matters as the
9
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
12
referred to in subsection (a) is the formula under which,
13
for purposes of determining prices for milk of the highest
14
use classification, the Class I skim milk price per hundred-
15
weight specified in section 1000.50(b) of title 7, Code of
16
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), is equal to
17
the sum obtained by adding—
18
(1) the adjusted Class I differential specified in
19
section 1000.52 of that title (or successor regula-
20
tions);
21
(2) the adjustment to Class I prices specified in
22
sections 1005.51(b), 1006.51(b), and 1007.51(b) of
23
that title (or successor regulations); and
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(3) the higher of—
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•S 1014 IS
(A) the advanced pricing factor computed
1
under section 1000.50(q)(1) of that title (or
2
successor regulations); and
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(B) the advanced pricing factor computed
4
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
7
PROCESSING COSTS.
8
Section 273 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of
9
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1637b) is amended—
10
(1) in subsection (b)(1)—
11
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking
12
‘‘and’’ at the end;
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(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the
14
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
20
yield information, as determined by the Sec-
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retary, for all products processed in the same
22
facility or facilities; and
23
‘‘(D) require any manufacturer of such
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other dairy products as determined by the Sec-
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•S 1014 IS
retary to report cost and yield information in
1
the same manner as under subparagraph (C),
2
for the purposes of providing information for
3
the regulatory or administrative establishment
4
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
8
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
9
this paragraph, and every 2 years thereafter, the
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Secretary shall publish a report containing the infor-
11
mation obtained under subparagraphs (C) and (D)
12
of subsection (b)(1).’’.
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Æ
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