II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3531 

To amend the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 to establish a 

dairy market stabilization program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2010 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 

to establish a dairy market stabilization program. 

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 Market Sta5 bilization Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DAIRY MARKET STABILIZATION PROGRAM. 

7 The Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (7 

8 U.S.C. 1421 note; title I of Public Law 98–189) is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle D—Dairy Market 

2 Stabilization Program 

3 ‘‘SEC. 141. DEFINITIONS. 

4 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

5 ‘‘(1) ALLOWABLE MILK MARKETING.—The term 

6 ‘allowable milk marketing’ means the quantity of 

7 milk production that a dairy facility may produce 

8 during a quarter without incurring a market access 

9 fee, as determined under section 143(a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE MILK MARKETING GROWTH

11 RATE.—The term ‘allowable milk marketing growth 

12 rate’ means the allowable milk marketing growth 

13 rate established by the Secretary for the applicable 

14 quarter under section 143(a)(3). 

15 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE MARKET ACCESS FEE.—The 

16 term ‘alternative market access fee’ means a fee de17 scribed in section 143(a)(4) that is assessed on all 

18 milk produced in excess of the allowable milk mar19 ketings of a dairy facility. 

20 ‘‘(4) APPEALS COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Appeals 

21 Committee’ means the producer appeals committee 

22 established under section 142(c). 

23 ‘‘(5) DAIRY FACILITY.—The term ‘dairy facil24 ity’ means an operation on a property, or set of 

25 properties that are contiguous or separated only by 


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1 a public right-of-way, that is directly related to rais2 ing cows or producing milk from cows for the pur3 pose of making a profit or for a livelihood. 

4 ‘‘(6) MARKET ACCESS FEE DIVIDEND.—The 

5 term ‘market access fee dividend’ means the market 

6 access fees collected during an applicable quarter 

7 that are redistributed to dairy facilities with allow8 able milk marketings under section 143(c). 

9 ‘‘(7) MILK HANDLER.—The term ‘milk handler’ 

10 means a person that makes payments to a dairy fa11 cility for milk produced in the United States and 

12 purchased from the dairy facility for commercial use. 

13 ‘‘(8) ORDER.—The term ‘order’ means an order 

14 issued by the Secretary under section 142(a). 

15 ‘‘(9) PRODUCER.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘producer’ 

17 means any person engaged in the production of 

18 bovine milk for commercial use. 

19 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘producer’ 

20 includes any producer holding a license to 

21 produce milk. 

22 ‘‘(10) PRODUCER BOARD.—The term ‘Producer 

23 Board’ means the Producer Board established under 

24 section 142(b). 


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1 ‘‘(11) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

2 the Dairy Market Stabilization Program established 

3 under section 142(a). 

4 ‘‘(12) QUARTER.—The term ‘quarter’ means 

5 each of the following 4 quarters of a calendar year: 

6 ‘‘(A) January 1 through March 31. 

7 ‘‘(B) April 1 through June 30. 

8 ‘‘(C) July 1 through September 30. 

9 ‘‘(D) October 1 through December 31. 

10 ‘‘(13) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means each 

11 of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Region 1, Northeast, consisting of the 

13 States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Mary14 land, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jer15 sey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 

16 Vermont, and West Virginia. 

17 ‘‘(B) Region 2, Southeast, consisting of the 

18 States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, 

19 Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, 

20 North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and 

21 Virginia. 

22 ‘‘(C) Region 3, Midwest, consisting of the 

23 States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Min24 nesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South 

25 Dakota, and Wisconsin. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Region 4, South, consisting of the 

2 States of Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and 

3 Texas. 

4 ‘‘(E) Region 5, Northwest, consisting of 

5 the States of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Or6 egon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. 

7 ‘‘(F) Region 6, West, consisting of the 

8 States of Arizona, California, and Nevada. 

9 ‘‘(14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

10 means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting in con11 sultation with the Appeals Committee or Producer 

12 Board (as appropriate). 

13 ‘‘(15) STANDARD MARKET ACCESS FEE.—The 

14 term ‘standard market access fee’ means a fee as15 sessed under section 143(b) on all milk produced by 

16 a dairy facility. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 142. ESTABLISHMENT. 

18 ‘‘(a) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) PROPOSED ORDER.—Not later than 60 

20 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the 

21 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a 

22 proposed order to establish a program to be known 

23 as the ‘Dairy Market Stabilization Program’ that 

24 shall apply to all dairy facilities within the contigVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:01 Jun 26, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3531.IS S3531

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1 uous United States that produce milk for sale com2 mercially. 

3 ‘‘(2) FINAL ORDER.—After providing notice 

4 and opportunity for public comment on the proposed 

5 order under paragraph (1), but not later than 90 

6 days after publication of the proposed order, the 

7 Secretary shall issue an order to establish the Pro8 gram. 

9 ‘‘(3) REFERENDUM ON CONTINUATION OF PRO10 GRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

12 after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the 

13 Secretary shall conduct a referendum among 

14 dairy producers who, during a representative 

15 period (as determined by the Secretary), have 

16 been engaged in the production of milk for com17 mercial use, for the purpose of ascertaining 

18 whether the Program then in effect shall be 

19 continued. 

20 ‘‘(B) VOTING PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

21 shall conduct the following 2 rounds of voting 

22 in the referendum: 

23 ‘‘(i) FIRST ROUND.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the first 

25 round of voting, each dairy producer 


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1 shall be entitled to cast the vote of the 

2 dairy producer. 

3 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION.—A coopera4 tive association of dairy producers 

5 may not vote on behalf of the mem6 bers of the association. 

7 ‘‘(ii) SECOND ROUND.— 

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the second 

9 round of voting, a cooperative associa10 tion of dairy producers may vote on 

11 behalf of those of the members of the 

12 association who did not vote in the 

13 first round. 

14 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION.—A coopera15 tive association of dairy producers 

16 may not vote on behalf of the mem17 bers of the association who voted in 

18 the first round. 

19 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION.—The Program 

20 shall be continued after the date of the ref21 erendum only if the Secretary determines that 

22 the Program has been approved by not less 

23 than a majority of the eligible dairy producers 

24 voting in the referendum. 


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1 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION.—If continuation of 

2 the Program is not approved by a majority of 

3 the eligible dairy producers voting in the ref4 erendum, the Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) terminate the collection of fees 

6 under the Program not later than 180 

7 days after the Secretary determines that 

8 termination is favored by a majority of the 

9 eligible producers voting in the ref10 erendum; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) terminate the Program in an or12 derly manner as soon as practicable after 

13 that determination. 

14 ‘‘(b) PRODUCER BOARD.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide for 

16 the establishment of a board of directors to be 

17 known as the ‘Producer Board’ to advise the Sec18 retary on administration of the Program. 

19 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Producer Board shall 

20 be composed of 15 members, of whom— 

21 ‘‘(A) 12 shall be producers, of whom— 

22 ‘‘(i) 6 producers shall be elected under 

23 paragraph (3)(A) based on region, with 1 

24 member from each of the 6 dairy-pro25 ducing regions in the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 6 producers shall be elected 

2 under paragraph (3)(B) based on the geo3 graphical distribution of milk production 

4 volume throughout the United States; 

5 ‘‘(B) 1 shall represent dairy consumers; 

6 ‘‘(C) 1 shall represent fluid milk bottlers; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) 1 shall represent dairy product proc9 essors. 

10 ‘‘(3) ELECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) REGIONAL REPRESENTATION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

13 shall hold an election of dairy producers in 

14 each region to select the members of the 

15 Producer Board described in paragraph 

16 (2)(A)(i). 

17 ‘‘(ii) VOTING.—Each dairy producer 

18 shall have 1 vote per region in which the 

19 dairy producer has a dairy. 

20 ‘‘(iii) FIRST ROUND.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the first 

22 round of voting, each dairy producer 

23 shall be entitled to cast the vote of the 

24 dairy producer. 


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1 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION.—A coopera2 tive association of dairy producers 

3 may not vote on behalf of the mem4 bers of the association. 

5 ‘‘(iv) SECOND ROUND.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the second 

7 round of voting, a cooperative associa8 tion of dairy producers may vote on 

9 behalf of those of the members of the 

10 association who did not vote in the 

11 first round. 

12 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION.—A coopera13 tive association of dairy producers 

14 may not vote on behalf of the mem15 bers of the association who voted in 

16 the first round. 

17 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF

18 MILK PRODUCTION VOLUME.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

20 shall determine which of the 6 dairy-pro21 ducing regions in the United States shall 

22 hold an election of dairy producers to se23 lect the members of the Producer Board 

24 described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), based on 

25 the milk production volume of each region. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) VOTING.—Each dairy producer 

2 in a region selected under clause (i) shall 

3 have 1 vote per selected region in which 

4 the dairy producer has a dairy. 

5 ‘‘(iii) VOTING PROCEDURE.—Each re6 gion selected under clause (i) shall conduct 

7 2 rounds of voting under similar proce8 dures to the procedures described in sub9 paragraph (A)(iii). 

10 ‘‘(4) ADVISOR.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

12 appoint a dairy economist to advise the Pro13 ducer Board. 

14 ‘‘(B) NONVOTING MEMBER.—The indi15 vidual appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 

16 be a nonvoting member of the Producer Board. 

17 ‘‘(c) PRODUCER APPEALS COMMITTEE.—The order 

18 shall require the Producer Board to establish a committee 

19 to be known as the ‘Producer Appeals Committee’ to ad20 vise the Secretary on appeals of decisions made during the 

21 first year of operation of the Program. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 143. OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RATES, FEES, DIVIDENDS, 

24 AND INITIAL ALLOWABLE MILK MARKETINGS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The order shall provide for 

2 the establishment of rates and fees and the payment 

3 of dividends in accordance with this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE MILK MARKETINGS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At least 30 days be6 fore the first day of each quarter, the Secretary 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) establish the quantity of allowable 

9 milk marketings for each dairy facility; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) notify each dairy facility of the 

12 quantity. 

13 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT OF ALLOWABLE

14 MILK MARKETINGS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF

15 THE PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(i) DAIRY FACILITIES THAT BEGAN

17 MARKETING MILK PRIOR TO 2007.—In the 

18 case of a dairy facility that marketed milk 

19 during the period beginning on January 1, 

20 2007, and ending on the date of enactment 

21 of this subtitle, the allowable milk mar22 ketings for the dairy facility during the 

23 first year of operation of the Program shall 

24 be, at the option of the dairy facility— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the average of the milk mar2 ketings for the corresponding quarters 

3 of 2007, 2008, and 2009, as adjusted 

4 to reflect the allowable milk marketing 

5 growth rate; or 

6 ‘‘(II) the milk marketings for the 

7 corresponding quarter of 2009. 

8 ‘‘(ii) OTHER DAIRY PRODUCERS.—In 

9 the case of a dairy facility that did not 

10 market milk during each of the calendar 

11 years 2007, 2008, and 2009, but that is 

12 marketing milk as of the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the initial establishment of al14 lowable milk marketings shall be— 

15 ‘‘(I) established by the Secretary 

16 in an amount determined by the Sec17 retary to be appropriate; and 

18 ‘‘(II) subject to review by the Ap19 peals Committee. 

20 ‘‘(C) ESTABLISHMENT OF ALLOWABLE

21 MILK MARKETINGS IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS.— 

22 Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, 

23 the quantity of allowable milk marketings for a 

24 dairy facility under this subtitle shall be equal 

25 to the quantity of milk commercially produced 


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1 by the dairy facility during the corresponding 

2 quarter during the previous calendar year, as 

3 adjusted to reflect the allowable milk marketing 

4 growth rate. 

5 ‘‘(D) APPEAL.—A dairy producer may ap6 peal to the Secretary the quantity of allowable 

7 milk marketings established for the dairy pro8 ducer. 

9 ‘‘(E) TRANSFERS OF ALLOWABLE MILK

10 MARKETINGS.—The 1 or more owners of the 

11 milk-producing cows at a dairy facility may 

12 transfer, in full, the allowable milk marketings 

13 associated with the dairy facility to— 

14 ‘‘(i) an individual or entity that pur15 chases the dairy facility; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) another dairy facility under the 

17 same ownership. 

18 ‘‘(F) LEAP-YEAR ADJUSTMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—During a calendar 

year that consists of 366 days, 1 20 ⁄90th of the 

21 allowable milk marketings for the first 

22 quarter shall be added to the allowable 

23 milk marketings of each dairy facility. 

24 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT YEAR.—Following 

25 a year described in subparagraph (A), 


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1 1 ⁄91st of the allowable milk marketings 

2 shall be subtracted from the allowable milk 

3 marketings of each dairy facility during 

4 the preceding year. 

5 ‘‘(3) ALLOWABLE MILK MARKETING GROWTH

6 RATE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ALLOWABLE

8 MILK MARKETING GROWTH RATE.—At least 30 

9 days before the first day of each quarter, the 

10 Secretary, after considering any recommenda11 tions made by the Producer Board, shall estab12 lish the allowable milk marketing growth rate 

13 for the upcoming quarter based on the following 

14 table: 

‘‘Milk-Feed Ratio Allowable milk 

marketing 

growth rate (in 

percent) 

Milk-Feed Ratio greater than/equal to 2.00 .......... 3.00 

Milk-Feed Ratio 1.75–1.99 .................................... 0.00 

Milk-Feed Ratio less than/equal to 1.74 ................ ¥3.00. 

15 ‘‘(B) MILK FEED RATIO.—For purposes of 

16 this paragraph and paragraph (4), the Sec17 retary shall calculate a milk-feed ratio for a 

18 month using the same procedures used to cal19 culate the milk-feed ratio on page 64 of the Ag20 ricultural Prices report dated January 29, 

21 2010, of the National Agricultural Statistics 

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1 cluding the data and factors noted in footnote 

2 4). 

3 ‘‘(C) QUARTERLY ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE

4 ALLOWABLE MILK MARKETING GROWTH

5 RATE.—For the purpose of announcing the 

6 quarterly allowable milk marketing growth rate, 

7 the Secretary shall use the simple average of 

8 the 3 most recently available monthly figures 

9 for the milk-feed ratio. 

10 ‘‘(4) STANDARD AND ALTERNATIVE MARKET

11 ACCESS FEES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) STANDARD MARKET ACCESS FEE.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At least 30 days 

14 before the first day of each quarter, the 

15 Secretary shall establish the standard mar16 ket access fee to be assessed on all com17 mercial milk production of a dairy facility 

18 for that quarter. 

19 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The standard 

20 market access fee shall be based on the 

21 number of hundredweights of raw milk 

22 produced for commercial use, as deter23 mined by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(iii) CALCULATION OF STANDARD

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1 ket access fee shall be determined using 

2 the following table: 

‘‘Milk-Feed Ratio Market Access 

Fee 

Milk-Feed Ratio greater than/equal to 3.00 .......... $0.03 

Milk-Feed Ratio 2.50–2.99 .................................... $0.13 

Milk-Feed Ratio 2.00–2.49 .................................... $0.25 

Milk-Feed Ratio less than/equal to 1.99 ................ $0.50. 

3 ‘‘(iv) QUARTERLY ANNOUNCEMENT OF

4 THE MARKET ACCESS FEE.—For the pur5 pose of announcing the quarterly standard 

6 market access fee, the Secretary shall use 

7 the simple average of the 3 most recently 

8 available monthly figures for the milk-feed 

9 ratio. 

10 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE ACCESS FEE.—The 

11 amount of the alternative market access fee to 

12 be assessed on all commercial milk production 

13 of a dairy facility that exceeds the allowable 

14 milk marketings of the dairy facility for a quar15 ter shall be equal to the product obtained by 

16 multiplying— 

17 ‘‘(i) 5; by 

18 ‘‘(ii) the standard market access fee 

19 amount per hundredweight of milk. 

20 ‘‘(5) REVISIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

22 make revisions to the calculations of the market 


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1 access fee and allowable milk marketing growth 

rate, but only if at least 2 2 ⁄3 of the members of 

3 the Producer Board support the revisions. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—For any revi5 sions, the Secretary shall consider— 

6 ‘‘(i) the economic conditions of the 

7 dairy industry in the United States; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the economic conditions of the 

9 world dairy market; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the commercial disappearance of 

11 fluid and manufactured milk products; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the domestic on-farm cost of 

13 producing raw milk, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) the cost of feed; 

15 ‘‘(II) the cost of labor, including 

16 the reasonable value of the labor and 

17 management of the dairy producer; 

18 ‘‘(III) machinery expenses; 

19 ‘‘(IV) interest expenses; and 

20 ‘‘(V) other cash expenses, includ21 ing the cost of hauling, veterinary 

22 services and medicine, bedding and 

23 litter, marketing, custom services and 

24 supplies, fuel, lubrication, electricity, 


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1 machinery and building repairs, labor, 

2 association fees, and assessments; 

3 ‘‘(v)(I) the domestic mailbox milk 

4 price paid to dairy farmers in the United 

5 States; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the margin between that milk 

7 price and the domestic on-farm cost of pro8 ducing milk referred to in subsection (iv); 

9 ‘‘(vi) other economic forces affecting 

10 dairy producers; 

11 ‘‘(vii) probable trends in production 

12 and consumption of milk and milk prod13 ucts; 

14 ‘‘(viii) the level of dairy farm prices in 

15 relation to production costs; 

16 ‘‘(ix) the financial condition of dairy 

17 producers; 

18 ‘‘(x) the costs and charges for pro19 ducing, hauling, handling, processing, dis20 tributing, selling, and conducting all other 

21 services performed with respect to milk 

22 and milk products; 

23 ‘‘(xi) the international value of manu24 factured dairy products; 


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1 ‘‘(xii) the current United States im2 port/export balance in dairy products; 

3 ‘‘(xiii) any foreseen purchases by the 

4 Federal Government for nutrition pro5 grams; and 

6 ‘‘(xiv) any other economic indicator 

7 that the Secretary determines to be appro8 priate. 

9 ‘‘(b) COLLECTION OF MARKET ACCESS FEES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During any quarter, a 

11 dairy facility that produces and markets milk in a 

12 quantity that is greater than the allowable milk mar13 ketings of the dairy facility for that quarter shall be 

14 assessed the standard market access fee in the fol15 lowing quarter unless, not later than 7 days after 

16 the end of the quarter, the dairy facility notifies in 

17 writing the appropriate local office of the Farm 

18 Services Agency of the intent of the dairy facility to 

19 pay the alternative market access fee in lieu of the 

20 standard market access fee. 

21 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—Not later than 25 days after the 

22 end of a quarter during which a dairy facility ex23 ceeded the allowable milk marketings of the dairy fa24 cility, the Secretary shall send to the dairy facility 

25 and to each of the milk handlers of the dairy facility 


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1 a notice that describes the market access fee to be 

2 assessed against the dairy facility during the fol3 lowing quarter. 

4 ‘‘(3) MILK HANDLERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each milk handler of 

6 a dairy facility notified under paragraph (2) 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) during the quarter for which the 

9 milk handler receives the notice, collect an 

10 assessment per hundredweight of milk 

11 from the dairy facility in the amount of the 

12 market access fee described in the notice; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) deposit the assessment amounts 

15 into the protected account described in 

16 subsection (d). 

17 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE MARKET ACCESS

18 FEE.—If a dairy facility notifies the appropriate 

19 local office of the Farm Services Agency under 

20 paragraph (1) of an intent to pay the alter21 native market access fee, the amount of the as22 sessment described in the notice under para23 graph (2) shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(i) deducted from the revenues of the 

2 dairy facility in 3 equal monthly install3 ments; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) deposited into the protected ac5 count described in subsection (d). 

6 ‘‘(4) SUBSEQUENT OVERAGES.—If a dairy facil7 ity exceeds the allowable milk marketings of the 

8 dairy facility in a quarter and any of the 4 subse9 quent quarters, the dairy facility shall be assessed a 

10 market access fee in an amount that is equal to the 

11 lesser of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the market access fee announced 

13 after the first quarter in which the dairy facility 

14 exceeded the allowable milk marketings; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the market access fee announced for 

16 the 4 quarters in which the dairy facility subse17 quently exceeds the allowable milk marketings 

18 of the dairy facility. 

19 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITY.—The milk handler for 

20 the 1 or more owners of the milk-producing cows at 

21 a dairy facility that receives a notice under para22 graph (2) shall give notice to the owners that the 

23 market access fees shall be— 

24 ‘‘(A) deducted from the proceeds of the 

25 dairy facility; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) submitted to the local office of the 

2 Farm Services Agency with which the owners 

3 have registered. 

4 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF MARKET ACCESS FEE DIVI5 DENDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During any quarter, a 

7 dairy facility that produces and markets a quantity 

8 of milk that is less than or equal to the allowable 

9 milk marketings of the dairy facility for that quarter 

10 shall be entitled to receive a market access fee divi11 dend in an amount based on the ratio that— 

12 ‘‘(A) each hundredweight of allowable milk 

13 marketings produced during that quarter at the 

14 dairy facility; bears to 

15 ‘‘(B) total hundredweights produced by all 

16 facilities that did not exceed the applicable al17 lowable milk marketings during that quarter. 

18 ‘‘(2) TOTAL AMOUNT.—The total amount of 

19 market access fee dividends available during a quar20 ter shall be equal to the cumulative market access 

21 fees collected under this subtitle for a quarter. 

22 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The market access fee 

24 dividends for a quarter shall be distributed to 


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1 each qualifying dairy facility not later than 30 

2 days after the last day of the following quarter. 

3 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—The 1 or more owners 

4 of the milk-producing cows at a dairy facility 

5 described in paragraph (1) shall be eligible to 

6 receive any market access fee dividends paid to 

7 the dairy facility under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT.—Payment of market ac9 cess fee dividends shall be by check or direct 

10 deposit. 

11 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts collected by milk 

12 handlers under subsection (b) shall be deposited into a 

13 protected account established by the Secretary from which 

14 amounts may not be withdrawn other than for distribution 

15 as market access fee dividends.’’. 

Æ 


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