Environment, structure drive dairy policy

Food & Drink Weekly, Dec 27, 2004

Outgoing U.S. secretary of agriculture Ann M. Veneman has urged future U.S. policymakers to pay greater heed to environmental pressures on dairy farms, changes in the structure and location of U.S. milk production and the industry's approach to marketing its products. Veneman was asked recently if she had any regret that she did not try to confront regional differences that have precluded consensus on long-term federal milk support policy. "We haven't had people fighting that much" during the last four years, she said as she prepared to leave office.

As important as economic policy is the need to look at "how the structure of the dairy industry has changed," she said. "When we talk policy, let's understand the structure of the industry." Describing a recent visit to large-scale farms, she noted the shift in production from southern California to New Mexico and other areas with less population and fewer environmental problems. "Environmental issues will continue very big. It's going to continue well into the future," she said.

Veneman suggested that increased demand for dairy products may have eased some of the pressure for government to support milk prices. She noted new marketing efforts such as the single-serving bottles sold through convenience stores and schools as one example.