By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the help of several other top state agriculture officials, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey is leading a nationwide effort to offer the federal government a new proposal to help America’s struggling dairy, pork and poultry farmers.

”Pork and dairy farmers in Iowa and across the nation are hurting and this proposal is a way to support them during this difficult time, and get nutritious and wholesome products to needy families,” he said.

Northey was recently elected to serve on the National Assoc. of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)’s executive committee, a position that would place him on track to serve as the organization’s president in 2011 to 2012.

“Right now, these farmers are losing money on every gallon of milk they produce and every pound of pork they raise, that is unsustainable,” he added.

Drafted by members of the NASDA, the plan would take extra dairy and pork supplies off the market and bring up prices paid to producers. The commodities would then be available through a supplemental food assistance program to people who could not otherwise afford them.

Entitled “Meat the Need,” the plan calls for the federal government to purchase up to three installments of 75 million pounds of cheese and other dairy products over 120 days, and up to three installments of 100 million pounds of pork products over 180 days.
If the target price of $16 per cwt. of milk and 49 cents per pound of pork – the average cost of production for each product – is reached before the second or third installment, the purchases would stop, Northey said. The plan also includes a one-time purchase of 100 million pounds of turkey.

The purchased meat and dairy products would be distributed to food banks, school lunch programs and a new SNAP-PLUS program, as well as into foreign military food assistance, Northey added.
The SNAP-PLUS program would allow the USDA to increase allocations to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and require SNAP beneficiaries to spend the new allocations on meat and dairy products only. Participants would be given separate electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to purchase the products.

The initiative is projected to cost between $2 and $3 billion dollars and the proposal calls for the funding to come from unspent stimulus dollars.

“I worry that if something isn’t done quickly to help these farmers we could lose a significant number of dairy and pork producers, which could hurt our economy,” Northey said.

“A recent study showed that one in six jobs in Iowa is related to agriculture, so the potential economic impact of these ongoing losses reaches far beyond the farmers raising these animals,” he said.

As a nonprofit, nonpartisan association that represents the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the state departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories, the NASDA ensures the safety of food supplies, protection of animal and plant health and promoting the vitality of rural communities.
David Hickey, NASDA executive director, said everyone in rural America is recognizing the difficult times that U.S. dairy, pork and poultry industries are facing.

“Each and every day, we are seeing farmers and producers – some 5th and 6th generation farms – being forced out of business,” he said. “Several of my peers, from all around the nation, organized efforts to discuss and develop possible solutions to provide critical assistance to get our producers and farmers through this tough period.

“The situation in the dairy, pork, and poultry industries is getting more serious daily,” he added. “If something is not done immediately, we could see agriculture financial credit institutions initiate massive liquidation affecting many of our farmers and producers.”

What’s more, Hickey said serious impacts would then be felt in the agriculture financial system, across rural America, and would likely worsen an already weak U.S. economy.

“Nearly every segment of the rural economy – from feed mills to equipment dealers – will quickly realize a negative impact to their bottom lines,” he said. “In just this year alone, dairy farmers are expected to lose $12 billion in sales. Meanwhile, pork producers have seen nearly $5 billion disappear in equity since this crisis began.”

At the same time, Hickey said, the economic crisis in the U.S. has seen millions more Americans faced with the threat of hunger.
“As a matter of fact, as of July 2009, there are nearly 36 million Americans participating in SNAP – an increase of over 23 percent from just a year ago,” he said.

As a result, there are numerous NASDA secretaries, commissioners, and directors representing every region of the country involved with the proposal and are actively advocating for the much-needed assistance for struggling farmers and producers.

“We all are working cooperatively to move this proposal forward, not only in our states, but on the national stage, as well,” Hickey said. “We are working with congressional leaders, administration officials and various industry groups to see our proposal be successful.

“This is a critical time in rural America, and we all have to step up and ensure the survival of our dairy, pork and poultry producers,” he said.