Bryan, Reid to meet with USDA officials over milk pricing system

Tuesday, June 22, 1999 | 5:16 a.m.

The senators contend that altering the pricing system would cost Clark County 400 to 500 dairy industry jobs.

"It is imperative that the Department of Agriculture fully understand the consequences of such an ill-conceived proposal," Bryan, D-Nev., said Tuesday.

At issue are the nation's milk pricing regions, which are divided into what are called milk marketing orders. The orders set the price that processors pay dairy farmers, much like a minimum wage.

The 1996 farm law ordered Agricultural Secretary Dan Glickman to consolidate the nation's current 31 orders. Glickman's proposal reduces those regions to 11 but it also changes some of the formulas by which dairy farmers are paid.

Opponents to the USDA plan say it would lower the minimum price received by dairy farmers, potentially costing them nearly $200 million a year, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.

"Many consumers in Southern Nevada are not aware of where their dairy products are produced," Reid, D-Nev., said. "But if the USDA succeeds in its latest plan, they will certainly feel the difference in their pocketbooks the next time they visit the supermarket to buy a gallon of milk."

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