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Updated as of May 5, 2008

Farm Bill Receives Two-Week Extension as Conferees Debate Final Details
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the U.S. House and Senate conference committee on the new Farm Bill, announced last Friday that the committee had reached agreement on most of the major elements of the bill. Also on Friday, President George Bush agreed to extend existing agriculture policies until May 16 to allow conferees time to finalize remaining issues and send the completed legislation to Congress for approval. While conferees remain divided on the dairy import tax assessment, the bill currently includes provisions for dairy forward contracting and a commission to improve federal milk pricing policies. For more information, click here.

IDFA Opposes USDA Action Raising Milk Prices in Southeast Region
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last Thursday increased farm milk prices throughout every county in 14 Southeastern and Appalachian states with the implementation of a controversial Federal Milk Marketing Order change that was announced last month. In a statement released the same day, IDFA President and CEO Connie Tipton expressed IDFA's opposition to the decision. "With the cost of food already at an all-time high, we should be doing everything we can to keep milk available and affordable, not unnecessarily raising costs," said Tipton. To read the release, click here.

Sayler Leads Delegation at Codex Committee Meeting in China
IDFA Vice President Allen Sayler represented the food-additive interests of IDFA and the dairy industry at an international standards committee meeting held late last month in Beijing. Sayler, who led the International Dairy Federation delegation, joined more than 260 delegates from 65 countries who attended the week-long meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives. "The Chair and every delegate, representing governments and the food industry, cooperated, compromised and reached consensus on almost every agenda item under consideration," Sayler said. For more information, click here.

IDFA Urges FDA to Proceed with Caution on Potential Daily Values Updates
In comments filed last week with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), IDFA opposed making changes, at least for now, to the reference values that the agency uses to calculate the percent Daily Values listed on the Nutrition Facts Panels on all food and beverages. Instead, IDFA urged FDA to approach label changes with caution to ensure that they are based on strong science, understood by consumers, promote positive dietary changes and have no unintended consequences. "Any final rule defining Daily Values for use on food labels should be postponed until nutrition, labeling and consumer behavior experts come to significant agreement about how the Daily Values should be determined," the comments state. For more information, click here.

State News Tracks Legislation on Product Labels, Hauling Charges and More
The State News column tracks legislative efforts at the state level that are related to dairy. This edition tracks efforts in New Hampshire and Vermont that establish "fresh milk" labels, require processors to pay hauling charges and expand state pricing control.For more information and to view a complete matrix of pending state legislation, members can click here.

IDFA Creates Food Safety Working Group; Conference Call Set for Friday
IDFA has created a Food Safety Working Group that will work with IDFA staff to develop a strategy for dealing with current legislative and regulatory initiatives on food safety. The group's first task will be to determine the best way to respond to the Food and Drug Administration's call for comments on third-party certification programs for foods and feeds. Interested members are invited to participate in a conference call on Friday, May 9, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. To participate, contact Helen Medina, IDFA assistant director of international affairs, at hmedina@idfa.org or 202- 220-3507.

For more news on regulatory, legislative, international and marketing issues or on membership and educational opportunities, visit IDFA's News Center.