I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4896 

To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to require the Secretary of Agriculture 

to use data from each State to calculate average feed cost and actual 

dairy production margins, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 11, 2016 

Mr. GIBSON (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to use data from each State to 

calculate average feed cost and actual dairy production 

margins, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dairy Margin Insur5 ance Location Calculation Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Dairy 

6 MILC Act of 2016’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Section 1403 of the Agricultural Act of 

2 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9053) established the margin protec3 tion program to protect dairy producers from harm4 fully low actual dairy production margins and ensure 

5 sustainable dairy production in every region of the 

6 United States. 

7 (2) However, the margin protection program 

8 omits factors such as energy, transportation, and 

9 labor prices in calculating average feed cost. 

10 (3) Such omitted factors contribute to variation 

11 in the feed prices paid by dairy producers. 

12 (4) Section 1402 of the Agricultural Act of 

13 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9052) uses the average national feed 

14 cost to calculate the actual dairy production margin 

15 used by the margin protection program. 

16 (5) A recent analysis by Farm Credit East 

17 showed that the average price of feed paid by pro18 ducers in the Northeast could be 20 percent higher 

19 than the average national feed cost. 

20 (6) Data from each State on average feed 

21 prices, average energy prices, average transportation 

22 prices, and average labor prices are therefore nec23 essary to accurately calculate average feed cost. 

24 (7) The Secretary of Agriculture should use 

25 data from each State on the feed prices paid by 


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1 dairy producers to calculate the actual dairy produc2 tion margin to better protect dairy farmers from 

3 harmfully low actual dairy production margins. 

4 SEC. 3. CALCULATION OF AVERAGE FEED COST. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1402(a) of the Agricul6 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9052(a)) is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) CALCULATION OF AVERAGE FEED COST.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall cal10 culate the average feed cost using, from each of the 

11 50 States and each territory or possession of the 

12 United States specified in section 1401(11), the fol13 lowing data: 

14 ‘‘(A) The price of corn for a month. 

15 ‘‘(B) The price of soybean meal for a 

16 month. 

17 ‘‘(C) The price of alfalfa hay for a month. 

18 ‘‘(2) FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—For the 

19 purpose of calculating the average feed cost under 

20 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall also take into 

21 consideration energy costs, transportation costs, and 

22 labor costs.’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

24 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

25 consecutive 2-month period (as defined in section 1401 of 


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1 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9051)) that begins 

2 after 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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