U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has reintroduced her Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act as part of the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill negotiations.

The Farm Bill is re-visited and needs congressional approval every five years.

With nearly 3,500 dairy farmers, Gillibrand noted that the state is the fifth-largest producer of milk in the nation and the largest producer of yogurt and cheese.

The Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act would give dairy farmers the ability to review proposals, which could change the class one milk pricing for things like skim and whole milk. Currently, milk is separated into four classes – milk used for beverages is Class I; milk used for products like cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, frozen desserts, sour cream, yogurt and other foods is Class II; milk used for cream cheese, spreadable cheeses and hard cheese or shredded, grated or crumbled cheese is Class III, and Class IV is milk used for butter, evaporated or sweetened condensed milk.

If the bill is passed, it would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to hold public hearings within six months.

Gillibrand is also asking the U.S. trade representative to review what she says is Canada’s failure to uphold its dairy trade obligations.