[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DAIRY FARMERS ARE FACING A CRISIS

  (Ms. STEFANIK asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. STEFANIK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the 
urgent crisis facing dairy farmers across my district.
  The low price of milk, labor shortages, and dwindling access to new 
markets are just some of the many challenges faced by the hardworking 
family farms in my district. Additionally, the Margin Protection 
Program has failed North Country dairy farmers by providing little to 
no return on our farmers' buy-in.
  Recently, I was pleased to support the Bipartisan Budget Act, which 
contained many urgent reforms to this program, such as raising 
catastrophic coverage for the first tier of covered production for all 
farmers, reducing premium rates to help farmers buy coverage, and 
waiving costly administrative fees for underserved farms.
  Agriculture is truly the backbone of our North Country economy, and 
generations of farmers have helped make dairy production a way of life 
for many families that I represent.
  In Congress, I will keep fighting every day to strengthen our family 
farms for future generations.

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