An Act To Encourage the Future of Maine's Dairy Industry
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1945
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: PIOTTI, BRYANT, MILLS, PERRY, SMITH, THOMPSON, HATCH, STANLEY, WESTON

Legislative Document 
No. 1945 
H.P.1445 
House of Representatives, March 30, 2004 
An Act To Encourage the Future of Maine's Dairy Industry 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative PIOTTI of Unity. (GOVERNOR'S BILL) 
Cosponsored by Senator BRYANT of Oxford and 
Representatives: MILLS of Cornville, PERRY of Bangor, SMITH of Monmouth, 
THOMPSON of China, Senators: HATCH of Somerset, STANLEY of Penobscot, President 
Pro Tern TREAT of Kennebec, WESTON of Waldo. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §§3153·B and 3153·C are enacted to read: 
§3153-B. Dairy stabilization funding 
1. Tiered price support pt:Q9'ram. 
Beginning July 1, 
2004, 
the administrator of the Maine Milk Pool shall distribute to each 
milk producer in the State an amount of money that represents the 
difference between the target price of milk and the base price of 
milk in the previous month, calculated on an annual production 
per hundredweight basis as set forth in subsection 3. 
The Maine Milk Commission shall calculate the target prices at 
the 
short-run break-even point 
using 
the 
most 
recent 
Maine 
producer cost-of-production data, as compiled and updated every 3 
years by the Maine Milk Commission. 
The Maine Milk Commission 
shall 
set 
tiers 
of 
target 
prices 
to 
reflect 
the 
cost-of-production study models of small, medium and large farms. 
2. 
Base price calculation. 
For purposes of this section, 
the base price of milk is the Suffolk County, 
Massachusetts 
statistical uniform price of milk as determined for each month by 
the 
Northeast 
Market 
Administrator 
of 
the 
United 
States 
Department of Agriculture, plus amounts paid to milk producers in 
the State that result from premiums established by the Maine Milk 
Commission. 
In calculating the amount to be paid, 
there must 
first be a deduction representing any Federal Government payment 
received for 
the month 
due 
to 
low milk prices. 
Maine 
Milk 
Commission cost-of-production adjustments may not be considered 
premiums when determining the base price. 
• Production total. For purposes of this section, annual 
production is the total production in hundredweight 
for 
the 
12-month period commencing June 1st and ending May 31st of each 
subsequent calendar year. 
4. 
Repeal: 
review 
by 
joint 
standing 
committee. 
This 
section is repealed June 30, 2007. The joint standing committee 
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agricultural matters 
shall review the tiered price support established under this 
section and present its recommendations regarding this section to 
the Legislature no later than March 1, 2007. 
§3153-C. 
Milk Income Loss Contract 
1. 
Milk Income Loss Contract. 
The administrator of the 
Maine Milk Pool shall make payments to those milk producers in 
the State whose annual production exceeds the limit under the 
federal Milk Income Loss Contract but does not exceed an annual 
Page l-LR2824(1} 
production of 5 million pounds. 
For purposes of this section, 
"annual 
production" 
has 
the 
meaning 
as 
in 
section 
3153-B, 
subsection 3. 
For that volume of production that exceeds the 
federal cap, a producer will receive an amount per hundredweight 
equal to the federal Milk Income Loss Contract payment for the 
applicable month. 
2. 
Repeal. 
This section is repealed June 30, 2007. 
The 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over agricultural matters shall review this section and make 
recommendations 
regarding this section to the Legislature 
no 
later than March 1, 2007. 
Sec. 2. 
Target prices. 
Notwithstanding 
the 
Maine 
Revised 
Statutes, Title 7, section 3l53-B, subsection 1, for the year 
beginning July 1, 
2004 
and until the 
Maine 
Milk 
Commission 
updates the Maine producer cost-of-production data and calculates 
new target prices, the target prices are as follows: 
1. 
For the first 16,790 hundredweight produced per year by 
each producer, the target price is $16.18 per hundredweight; 
2. 
For production between 
hundredweight 
per 
year, 
the 
hundredweight; and 
16,791 hundredweight and 26,050 
target 
price 
is 
$15.59 
per 
3. 
For production in excess of 26,050 hundredweight per 
year, the target price is $13.12 per hundredweight. 
Sec. 3. Ad hoc committee. 
The Department of Agriculture, Food 
and Rural Resources shall implement the recommendations of the 
Governor's Task Force on the Sustainability of the Dairy Industry 
in 
Maine. 
The 
Commissioner 
of 
Agriculture, 
Food 
and 
Rural 
Resources 
shall 
assemble 
an 
ad 
hoc 
committee 
of 
industry 
representatives 
to 
make 
specific 
task 
assignments, 
establish 
benchmarks and issue a progress report to the Governor each year 
no later than October 15th beginning in 2004, with a final report 
and 
analysis 
due 
in 
2007. 
The 
Governor 
shall 
consider 
the 
findings 
of 
the 
report 
in making 
funding 
recommendations 
to 
support the dairy industry. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates 2 programs of assistance to support the 
prices paid to dairy farmers for their milk. The 2 programs are 
based on the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on the 
Sustainability of the Dairy Industry in Maine.