Delegates and guests of the MMPA gathered at the Lansing Center last week to review a year that provided members with exceptional average milk prices and provide direction for a year that forecasts decidedly lower prices in the milk check.
MMPA president Ken Nobis reviewed a year which yielded exceptionally high overall quality standards in the milk shipped by members. Thirty-seven gold quality awards recognized producers marketing milk with lowest somatic cell and bacteria counts in the state. Olen J. Fry and Thaddaeus Coning, Constantine Local, Potgeter Farms, Grand Rapids Local, Andrew W. Johnson, Ver Hage Dairy Farm and Webers Meadow LLC of the Kalamazoo Local and Heritage Farms and Seth Ponstein of West Michigan Local were among the gold award winners.
An additional 24 silver awards came home to southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana farms. Nobis also recognized Bob Kran, retiring MMPA vice president, for his years of service within the organization.
The national Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program will be required by all MMPA members by the end of 2015. The plan provides documentation on animal care and treatment at the farm, ensuring customers a product from cows in humane conditions. Ninety-one percent of MMPA's membership is already enrolled in the program.
Strong opposition defeated a proposed amendment to the policy on Farmland and Open Space Preservation Act (P.A.116). The amendment supported the concept of enacting a user fee to assist in administering the P.A. 116 program within the state. Due to personnel cuts from seven to two employees in the department where new farms are enrolled in 18-month lag time between the time when paperwork is submitted to final enrollment.
The idea of an added user fee was to add personnel and improve turnover time. Lively discussion suggested that P.A. 116 is for the good of the entire state and food security, not just for farmers. The amendment was defeated in a show of hands vote.
A new policy on the label use of the word milk on products made from plants or juice was supported and passed. MMPA opposes the term being loosely used by other products, as it confuses consumers. The statement urged "National Milk Producers Federation, United Dairy Industry Assn. and the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board to defend and promote the integrity of the milk label and limit its use as defined in the Federal Standards of Identity."
A policy proposal amendment on using back tags in conjunction with RFD tags at the slaughter house was tabled. Rejected or condemned animals at the slaughter houses are only referred back to the farm with back tag numbers. Since no references to electronic identification tags are reported, the possibility of fraud or transferring tag numbers is high. Delegates agreed that the tracking information potential of the RFID tags is not being afforded to the farmers purchasing the tags.
New policy regarding Dairy Management Inc. brought out member concerns regarding the direction and priorities of DMI. The new policy recognized current milk promotion initiatives but addressed the continued decline of milk consumption. The unopposed new policy urges DMI board of directors to refocus their priorities and return to its primary mission: to increase sales and demand for dairy products and maximize value returned to dairy farmers along with increased accountability and transparency in DMI finances.
Mark Halbert of Battle Creek and District 2 was reelected to the board of directors'at-large position. Also running was the first female candidate to be nominated to the board, Gertie van den Goor of Marlette. Halbert, MMPA's treasurer, will serve a three-year term.
Brian and Carrie Preston of Quincy were recognized as the Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperators (OYDC). They are part of a 700-cow family farm operation.
Steve and Danielle Berens, Wayland, represented District 11, and Ken and Kristen Sparks, Cassopolis, represented District 2 as OYDC candidates.