Policies concerning our nation’s dairy industry were just a few of the topics Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection, Ben Brancel, discussed while attending the 2015 World Dairy Expo.
“Today I think price in most all commodities are issues whether you are talking milk or grain prices. Of course low grain prices help that dairy farmer out when purchasing product, but milk prices is the thing that is on the mind of our dairy farmers.”
Sec. Brancel said Wisconsin had decent signups for the Margin Protection Program, but farmers are very leery of it and are not overly excited to participate in it. They don’t believe the program will in the end, create a floor under risk management.
On the trade front the Secretary said, “The Trans Pacific Partnership has huge value for Europe and the United States…but we are very concerned about the geographic indicator language.” This for example, causes problems in naming cheeses. “I think there are methods going forward, but we should not impose new rules on people who have been doing the same thing for 60 years and accepted by the international community.”
Beyond policy issues, Sec. Brancel also discussed the positive impact the World Dairy Expo has on the state of Wisconsin. Listen to my complete interview here: Interview with Wisconsin Sec. of Ag Ben Brancel
View and download photos from the event here: 2015 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
