An Update from Anja Raudabaugh, Western United Dairies CEO

As part of a series of public farmer meetings dedicated to considering changes to the Quota Implementation Plan, CDFA held a public forum in Modesto today (August 8th) to discuss the proposal adopted by the Producer Review Board (PRB) at its last meeting, which would primarily reduce the quota payment rate and lower the quota assessment.  This was the second in a series of four meetings, with the first being held in Santa Rosa on July 29th. Farmers with interests on both sides of the issue were on hand to provide input and ask questions.  CDFA went through a presentation that included the different aspects of the proposal and then stated that they would take public comment and respond to technical questions but that they would not be answering policy questions.

However, a significant policy consideration was brought up at today’s meeting. CDFA stated that the hearing scheduled for August 15th was being postponed because of a comment provided at the Santa Rosa meeting on July 29th. This comment suggested that it was the PRB’s intention to include a provision in the referendum allowing the PRB to adjust the future quota payment rate without the need for further referendums.  CDFA draft minutes from the Tulare PRB on May 1st show that this was discussed, and CDFA was considering whether to modify the proposal for the referendum based on the minutes from that meeting.

CDFA acknowledged that their notes did show discussion and some intent to do so, and therefore, they were postponing the August 15th hearing until they figured out what to do about this.  The idea is that they might change the current referendum language to include that provision before it goes out for a vote this fall.

Indirectly, a member of the Modesto audience mentioned that Stop QIP had recently submitted another petition to CDFA to eliminate quota, and a lengthy discussion drew strong opinions from the crowd, given the ongoing petitions.