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DOCKET NO: AMS-DA-07-0026-0005

August 17, 2008\
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Hearing Clerk\
Stop 9200-Room 1031\
United States Department of Agriculture\
1400 Independence Avenue, SW\
Washington, DC 20250-9200\
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Federal eRulemaking portal:
[http://www.regulations.gov](http://www.regulations.gov/)\
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To Whom It May Concern:\
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These comments are in reference to the recent "Tentative Partial Final
Decision" concerning the Referendum (July 11, 2008) on the proposal to
amend manufacturer "make allowances" by increasing the "make allowance"
fees for cheese, butter, NFDM, and dry whey and the proposal to increase
the butterfat yield factor in the butterfat price formula.\
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The proposal to increase make allowances will lower prices dairy farmers
receive for all classes of milk. This creates economic hardship for
dairy farming families at a time when they are being hammered by
escalating production costs on their farms. Make allowances in place are
already reducing dairy farmers' blend prices in Federal Order No. 1 by
approximately \$2.50 per cwt. The impending increased make allowances
will increase to nearly \$3.00 per cwt.\
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Current federal milk pricing policy enacted in 2000, under "Federal
Order Reform," continues to ignore the mandate in the 1937 Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act (AMAA) 608(c)18 provision that requires the USDA
Secretary of Agriculture to factor the dairy farmers' cost of production
in the basic federal milk pricing formula. At the same time, dairy
farmers are being obligated to cover dairy manufacturers' costs plus a
profit by perpetual increases in make allowances while dairy farmers
must "go it alone" in a global free market using methods of highest
efficiency on their farms. The make allowance for dairy processors
executed at the expense of dairy farmers amounts to an entitlement that
favors keeping less efficient manufacturing plants in production. At no
time do these same plants that benefit from reducing the value of dairy
farmers' milk checks with increased make allowances offer any "profit
sharing" with the dairy farmers\
 for all the money "invested" in the operation of the plant by the
farmers through the make allowances.\
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Make allowances originated as an incentive for processors to "make
product" at a time when high government CCC purchases of dairy products
were part of the price support system, not for everyday processor
profit.  Today's support price is at an abysmal low of \$9.90 per
hundredweight and is a guarantee that dairy farmers will continue to
suffer institutionalized economic injustice under the present federal
milk pricing policies. In fact, there is no justification for make
allowances at all in today's dairy economy which is now part of the
competitive global marketplace. Furthermore, make allowance factors also
lower the raw milk price paid by manufacturers of both Class I and Class
II dairy products neither of which are purchased by the government at
all. This is another example of how the make allowance policy favors
dairy processors and directly harms dairy farmers.\
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The Federal Register (7-31-08) (Vol. 73, No.148) states "More than the
required producers approved the issuance of the interim order as
amended." This is a bold misrepresentation of the facts, an illusion
that maintains the "perception" that dairy farmers have individually
studied the facts and somehow assented to lowering the value of their
milk checks. The truth is that the majority of dairy farmers were not
aware at all that a ballot to raise the make allowances was in the
works. Some dairy farmers heard about the referendum to increase the
make allowances only because neighbors, as independent producers, had
received their own informational "Notice of Referendum to Milk
Producers" from their Market Administrator's office. The vast majority
of dairy farmers are not being informed about any "Referendum"
initiatives in a timely fashion so that they can educate themselves
about the issues being considered. Secrecy surrounding the ballot
process is institutionalized to maintain control of dairy farmers
through block voting.\
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Dairy farmers, if they are informed about anything, are usually told
paternalistically by co-op leadership that the co-op must block vote in
favor of an amendment because a vote against an amendment will terminate
the entire Federal Order system. This is an outrage against democratic
principles and is as preposterous as a policy that would throw out the
entire US Constitution if a constitutional amendment is not approved.\
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The "block voting" abuse being orchestrated against dairy farmers by
dairy co-operatives needs to be addressed immediately. Farmers should be
informed about the issues under consideration early enough in the
process to be able to make their own informed decisions and influence
the process. Furthermore, it goes without saying that all dairy farmers
should have an individual ballot for any proposal that will remove money
from their milk checks.\
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Another indication of the irrationality of the "Referendum" process is
evident in the execution of the ballot and implementation of the
"Temporary Partial Final Decision" before any confirmed information is
provided to dairy farmers and before the "comment" period itself.\
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The present policies are irrational and unreasonable to presume that the
best interests of dairy farmers are served by anything in this
"Referendum" farce.\
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For these reasons we are vehemently opposed to any increased make
allowances that will reduce dairy farmers' income and further insist
that the federal milk pricing policies currently in force be examined
thoroughly to correct the injustices that are making a travesty of
justice as dairy farmers remain powerless, voiceless, disenfranchised,
and abused.

Sincerely,

Dairy Subcommittee

National Family Farm Coalition

Ohio Farmers Union