Ag Alert October 7, 2020

Quota Continued from Page 3

“There will always be extremists on one end of the spectrum and the other end of the spectrum that will focus pri- marily on their narrow financial inter- ests,” he said. “But this petition really isn’t about them, and your vote should not be a reaction to what some of them may have done ormay be pursuingwith- in the industry. This is about bringing community together.” Unlike the hearing to consider the Stop QIP petition, which took up two days of testimony, the UDFC petition prompted testimony froma handful of farmers—all supporting a vote on the proposal. Dairy farmer A.J. Bos, amember of Stop QIP, testifiedhe supports a referendumon the UDFC plan and a five-year sunset of theQIP. “I’mOKwitha five-year sunset,”he said, “and I think that the industry should vote for that because I think it’s an opportunity and an important opportunity right now that we can unify as an industry once we get past this—and I think it’s very import- ant we do get past this.” Even thoughhebelieves in the immedi- ate termination of the QIP, Craig Gordon, another member of Stop QIP, said he thinks UDFC has the right to bring its pe- tition to a vote. Fresno County dairy farmer Rodney Kamper said he supports a producer ref- erendumontheUDFCproposal but raised

concerns about theMarch 1, 2025, sunset date being less than five years away. He suggested termination of the QIP should start after the referendumhas passed. Thoughhecurrentlyownsnoquotahim- self,TulareCountydairyfarmerJohnMoons testifiedhehas family and friends “onboth sides of this issue” and does not support “immediateabolishment”of theQIP. “The latest petition has a sensible pro- posal that had been well vetted by dairy- men throughout the state,”Moons said. Describing himself as someone who owns “a small portion of quota,” Merced

County dairy farmer Dante Migliazzo urged producers who will have a say in the fateof quota to thinkabout howit “will affect the bottom line of those that have invested in thesystemin termsof itsequity value and its return.” “Although the petition that has come out of this is not apreferredoption formy- self, I recognize that it’s anoption that they found and it might be a possible alterna- tive to the quota situation in California,” he testified. (ChingLeeisanassistanteditorofAgAlert. Shemaybe contactedat clee@cfbf.com.)

was to“opposeany referendumthatwould eliminate quota without compensation” and to provide a forum for producers to discuss the future of quota. The group’s proposal came after a series of working meetingsandsurveyswithfarmersaround the state, includingmembers of StopQIP. TerminatingtheQIPin2025,Giacomazzi said, would “provide certainty regarding the programduration and could stabilize themarket price for quota for the remain- der of the program,” which he noted has seen a decline of nearly 70% in value since 2018. Equalizing the regional quota ad- juster would lower the QIP assessments by about 3 cents per cwt., providing “some relief” to producers who own little or no quota until theQIP sunset, he added. Marin Bozic, a University of Minnesota economist who provided analysis on dif- ferent proposals farmers considered, said ending theQIP in2025provides “sufficient time” for producers losing their quota to plan for the program’s termination. Based on farmer surveys conducted for UDFC, he described the sunset date as “our best bet to generate consensus” among pro- ducers, who considered sunset durations fromthree tosevenyears,with2025 repre- senting “the goldenmiddle.” Thoughnofarmermaybe“trulyenthusi- astic” about theproposal, Bozic saidhebe- lieves“thisisasclosetoperfectaswewillget.”

‘Sundae School’ provides dairy-related activities

Free vitrual “Sundae School” class- es offered by the San Francisco-based Museumof Ice Creamand the California MilkAdvisoryBoard intend tohelp teach- ers andparents offer engagingandeduca- tional activities at home. The hour-long Sundae School work- shops featurehistory, science, physical ed- ucationandart, “all toldthroughthemagic of icecream,” theMilkAdvisoryBoardsaid. California schools and students are eli- gible toenroll andparticipate in thevirtual classes for free throughOct. 31.

The museum said on its website last week the first set of Sundae School class- es was “fully subscribed,” but that inter- ested teachers and parents could join a wait list at www.museumoficecream. com/realcaliforniamilk. Milk Advisory Board CEO John Talbot said he hoped programs such as Sundae School “will continue to connect kids and families with our Golden State farms and the farm families behind the sustainable, high-quality ingredients inReal California dairy products.”

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Agricultural Market Review

Quotations are the latest available for the week ending October 2, 2020 Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week Livestock Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1050–1150 lbs., $ per cwt. 103-106 104-105 104-105 Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $ per cwt. 58.71 74.26 75.56 Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales 133.08-160 No Quote No Quote Field crops – basis prompt shipment Barley – U.S. No. 2, $ per cwt. Truck, Stockton-Modesto-Oakdale-Turlock 11.35 (Petaluma) No Quote No Quote Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market 65.17 66.78 66.67 Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $ per cwt. trucked 9.67 5 5.24 Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain 160 (P) No Quote No Quote Region 2, Sacramento Valley No Quote 220-270 (P) 200 (P/S) Region 3, Northern San Joaquin Valley 220-260 (P/S) 180-200 (P/S) No Quote Region 4, Central San Joaquin Valley 250 (S) No Quote 210 (P) Region 5, Southern California 270 (P) 255 (P) 255 (P) Region 6, Southeast Interior 170-200 (G/P) 185 (P) 135-148 (F/G) Oat Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Northern California, dairy No Quote No Quote No Quote Oats – U.S. No. 2 white, $ per cwt. Statewide, trucked price 90 (G) No Quote No Quote

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Dry Beans – Grower FOB prices Baby Limas, $ per cwt, (sacked) Large Limas, $ per cwt. (sacked) Blackeye, $ per cwt. (sacked)

No Quote No Quote No Quote

Rice – Milled No. 1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt. Wheat – U.S. No. 2 or better, winter, $ per cwt. 13% protein, Los Angeles, trucked price

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No Quote No Quote Provided by the California Farm Bureau Federation as a service to Farm Bureau members. Information supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News Branch. * ADF=Acid detergent fiber; (S) = Supreme/<27%ADF; (P) = Premium/27-29; (G) = Good/29-32; (F) = Fair/32-35. No Quote

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22 Ag Alert October 7, 2020