In Nov. 2018 when the state of California moved into the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, the California Quota Implementation Plan (QIP) went into effect to modify the original quota program established in 1967. Stakeholders have been discussing and analyzing the program moving forward, including some producers who filed to remove the quota system altogether. That petition, filed in March 2019, has since been struck down for lack of qualified votes, but some are actively continuing to pursue this avenue. Now, the United Dairy Families of California and those associated with them, are trying to create a unified solution. Quota within the California dairy system can be bought and sold, with a January CDFA report showing 674 producers own at least some quota within the state, expressed in pounds of fat and solids-not-fat produced per cow per day. According to USDA's 2017 Ag Census, 1,331 dairy operations operated in California as of the end of 2017. The majority of the quota currently available remains from the original 1967 creation of the program. The United Dairy Families of California, California Dairies, Inc., Land O’Lakes, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America and the STOP QIP organization announced the process that would analyze input previously provided on the quota system and explore its future status. The process - which kicked off last week - has three phases, beginning with "think tank" events, followed by producer feedback events, ending with analysis events. The end goal: create a system within the California dairy industry that does not interfere with the FMMO system while not making the current quota obsolete without compensation.
The last two think tank events will be held today and tomorrow. For more information, click here, https://www.dairyfamilies.org/
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