{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gallagher.house.gov/media/press-releases/gallagher-leads-letter-ag-chairman-support-wi-8-dairy-farmers", "Gallagher Leads Letter to Ag Chairman in Support of WI-8 Dairy Farmers", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Mike Gallagher", "G000579", "gallagher.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Rep. Gallagher led a group of his Wisconsin colleagues in a letter to House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway to make clear their policy priorities in the 2018 Farm Bill. In the letter the lawmakers specifically call for changes to the Dairy Margin Protection Program, which is designed to compensate producers for losses when their dairy margins fall below the coverage levels they have purchased.\u00a0 \u201cFor too long hardworking farmers in Northeast Wisconsin and across the country have been paying into a program that does not give them the results they need,\u201d Rep. Gallagher said. \u201cAs Congress begins to debate the upcoming Farm Bill, I will work with my colleagues to improve the MPP-Dairy program so that it is effective in meeting the challenges farmers face in an increasingly volatile market.\u201d\u00a0 Below is the full text of the letter: Dear Chairman Conaway: As members who represent Wisconsin\u2019s vast dairy industry, we thank you for your early start to the 2018 Farm Bill process and we are grateful for your efforts to complete the bill on time.\u00a0 We appreciate your steadfast advocacy for rural America and your commitment to reforming dairy policy in the new Farm Bill. As you know, Wisconsin is the second largest milk-producing state and is home to more dairy farms than any other in the nation.\u00a0 Wisconsin\u2019s roughly 9,500 family-owned dairy farms, totaling well over 1 million cows, produce roughly 14 percent of the U.S. milk supply each year.\u00a0 These farmers are the lifeblood of our communities and the fresh milk they produce supports many jobs in the agricultural and food manufacturing sectors of our state. The dairy industry in Wisconsin and nationwide has faced significant struggles in recent years.\u00a0 Our current trade challenges with Canada are particularly acute in \u2018America\u2019s Dairyland\u2019, a major manufacturer of ultrafiltered milk, and our producers continue to struggle with labor costs and challenges.\u00a0 Moreover, milk prices deteriorated significantly last year, causing dairy farmers added pain during an already challenging climate. With this in mind, a top priority for us in the Farm Bill is reforming the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy).\u00a0 While the program is fairly new, it has not performed to the expectations of our dairy farmers.\u00a0 In 2015 and 2016, the first two years of the program, dairy producers paid millions of dollars into the program but received very little return on this investment, even though last year was a very difficult year for our dairy farmers by all accounts. Therefore, we look forward to working with you to improve MPP-Dairy to make it more responsive to farmers.\u00a0 We understand that the program's current feed cost formula does not fully reflect producer costs, so we are interested in improving the program to better reflect the margins producers face to provide them a viable safety net in the difficult years.\u00a0 We are also urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to classify milk as a commodity under the federal crop insurance program, to provide producers with additional risk management options. We recognize that there will be budgetary limitations in the Farm Bill process and we stand ready to work with you to craft a Farm Bill that supports all of rural America.\u00a0 We appreciate your consideration and we are eager to work with you. Sincerely, Mike Gallagher  \n\tMember of Congress Sean Duffy  \n\tMember of Congress F. James Sensenbrenner  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gallagher.house.gov/media/press-releases/gallagher-leads-letter-ag-chairman-support-wi-8-dairy-farmers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0137311182916164, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}