Senator Brown Announces $350 Million in Emergency Support for Dairy Farmers

October 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Food, Nutrition, and Family Farms, announced that Agriculture Appropriations Act of 2010 includes $350 million in emergency support for our nation’s dairy industry.

“The dairy sector plays a key role in the economic vitality and success of Ohio’s small towns and rural communities,” Brown said. “It’s imperative Ohio dairy farmers have the support they need to withstand this time of high production costs and plummeting farm-level prices.”

Article continues below...

In September, Brown called on the Chairman of the Agricultural Appropriations Committee to include $350 million in emergency spending to help the nations’ struggling dairy farmers. Brown, who previously contacted U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to coordinate listening sessions in Ohio with dairy farmers, additionally requested that the USDA “temporarily increase (dairy) purchase prices under the Dairy Price Support Program.” Subsequently, USDA took Brown’s recommendation and temporarily increased farm-level prices. Passage of the Agriculture Appropriations Act of 2010 provides $290 million for direct dairy farmer assistance; the remaining $60 million will purchase cheese and other dairy products, bolstering commodity prices.

The first Ohioan to serve on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years, Brown grew up working on his family’s farm. He is an outspoken advocate in Congress for Ohio’s dairy industry.

Source: Senator Sherrod Brown