A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or in a section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned with the harvesting of milk.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), also known as the Agriculture Department, is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promotes agricultural trade and production, works to assure food safety, protects natural resources, fosters rural communities and works to end hunger in the United States and internationally.
Modern American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from cheddar, colby, or similar cheeses. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor, has a medium-firm consistency, and has a low melting point. It can be yellow or white in color; yellow American cheese is seasoned and colored with annatto. It originated in the 1910s and is a common staple in many American dishes.
An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative where farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between 'agricultural service cooperatives', which provide various services to their individually farming members, and 'agricultural production cooperatives', where production resources are pooled and members farm jointly. Examples of agricultural production cooperatives include collective farms in former socialist countries, the kibbutzim in Israel, collectively governed community shared agriculture, Longo Mai co-operatives and Nicaraguan production co-operatives.
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices". The CCC is authorized to buy, sell, lend, make payments, and engage in other activities for the purpose of increasing production, stabilizing prices, assuring adequate supplies, and facilitating the efficient marketing of agricultural commodities.
Government cheese is processed cheese provided to welfare beneficiaries, Food Stamp recipients, and the elderly receiving Social Security in the United States, as well as to food banks. This processed cheese was used in military kitchens during World War II and has been used in schools since the 1950s.
Animal Outlook, formerly known as Compassion Over Killing (COK), is a nonprofit animal advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., led by President Erica Meier. Formed in 1995, as a high school club, their primary campaigns are to advocate against factory farming and promote vegetarian eating. While the group welcomes those who are interested in animal welfare who eat meat, it encourages a transition to a plant-based diet, even if gradual or part-time.
Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintains plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods has 66 manufacturing facilities in 32 U.S. states and distributes its products across all 50. Its 58 brands include DairyPure, Land O'Lakes (Licensed), TruMoo, Friendly's, Mayfield, Dean's, Meadow Gold, Tuscan, T.G.Lee and Alta Dena. In November 2019, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing the decline in consumption of cow's milk and the growth in demand of plant milk.
Food policy is the area of public policy concerning how food is produced, processed, distributed, and purchased. Food policies are designed to influence the operation of the food and agriculture system. This often includes decision-making around production and processing techniques, marketing, availability, utilization and consumption of food, in the interest of meeting or furthering social objectives. Food policy can be promulgated on any level, from local to global, and by a government agency, business, or organization. Food policymakers engage in activities such as regulation of food-related industries, establishing eligibility standards for food assistance programs for the poor, ensuring safety of the food supply, food labeling, and even the qualifications of a product to be considered organic.
The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies direct payment programs for crops and eliminates milk price supports through direct government purchases.
In the United States, the farm bill is the primary agricultural and food policy tool of the federal government. The comprehensive omnibus bill is renewed every 5 years or so and deals with both agriculture and all other affairs under the purview of the United States Department of Agriculture. Congress is involved in overseeing the implementation of farm bills as well as being responsible for developing and enacting the legislation.
Butter-Powder Tilt is the price adjustment strategy in United States, which requires USDA to support the farm price of milk at $9.90 per cwt. by standing ready to purchase surplus butter, cheese and nonfat dry milk when wholesale prices for these commodities fall below administratively set levels. The 2002 farm bill allows USDA to adjust the government purchase price of butter and nonfat dry milk twice annually in order to better manage its inventories of surplus milk products and minimize government costs. However, whenever the purchase price of one commodity is reduced by USDA, it must increase the purchase price of the other commodity so that the overall support price of milk remains at $9.90 per cwt. This price adjustment is referred to as the butter-powder tilt.
The Dairy and Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983 is a United States federal law.
The Dairy Promotion Program or National Dairy Checkoff is a US commodity checkoff program for dairy product promotion, research, and nutrition education as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase human consumption of milk and dairy products and to reduce dairy surpluses.
The Southern Dairy Compact was an agreement between thirteen states in the southern United States. It was proposed to ensure the continued marketability of dairy producers in the member states and to supply a stable, local supply of milk products to the region. The proposed agreement was modeled on the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, that would allow member states to jointly establish a minimum farm price for fluid milk that is above the federally mandated minimum price level in the region.
The Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact was an agreement among the six New England states to support the farm price of milk at a higher level than under federally mandated minimum prices in the region.
The National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Program was first authorized by the Fluid Milk Promotion Act of 1990. Fluid milk processors through a commodity checkoff program develop and finance generic advertising programs designed to maintain and expand markets and uses for fluid milk products produced in the United States. The mandatory national fluid milk program is financed by a 20¢ per hundredweight assessment on all fluid milk processed and marketed commercially in consumer-type packages. Fluid Milk Board annual revenue is approximately $110 million.
Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Payments is the name given by USDA to the dairy farmer counter-cyclical payments program, authorized by the 2002 farm bill. Under the program, dairy farmers nationwide are eligible for a federal payment whenever the minimum monthly market price for farm milk used for fluid consumption in Boston falls below $16.94/cwt. A producer potentially can receive a payment equal to 45 percent of the difference between the $16.94 per cwt. target price and the market price, in any month that the Boston market price falls below $16.94. A producer can receive a payment on all milk production during that month, but no payments will be made on any annual production in excess of 2.4 million pounds per dairy operation. On average this limit is reached by a milking herd of 130 cows. MILC payments apply to production beginning December 1, 2002 through September 30, 2012.
Marketing orders and agreements in United States agricultural policy allow producers to promote orderly marketing through collectively influencing the supply, demand, or price of a particular commodity. Research and promotion can be financed with pooled funds.
Supply management (SM) is a national agricultural policy framework used in Canada that controls the supply of dairy, poultry and eggs through production and import controls and pricing mechanisms. Proponents of the framework tend to claim that it is designed to ensure that these farms can be profitable and Canadian consumers have access to a "high-quality, secure" supply of what they claim to be "sensitive products" at stable prices without shortages and surpluses. Opponents of the system tend to view it was an attempt by members of the supply managed industries to form a publicly supported cartel and profit at the expense of purchasers.
