United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-03-27 monographic deposited born digital 54 p. GA 1.13:RCED-95-97BR https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR P0b002ee180389e38 f:rc95097b DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR RCED-95-97BR Dairy industry Dairy products Farm income stabilization programs Price regulation Commodity marketing Price supports Agricultural production Agricultural policies Food supply International trade USDA Milk Marketing Order Program USDA Dairy Price-Support Program Briefing Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the dairy program, focusing on: (1) how the U.S. dairy pricing system operates; and (2) dairy issues that may need consideration during the 1995 farm bill reauthorization.<p/>GAO found that: (1) the U.S. dairy program sets minimum milk prices through milk marketing orders (MMO) and the price support program; (2) processors, not the federal government, pay farmers for milk; (3) 38 voluntarily adopted MMO cover 80 percent of U.S. Grade A milk production; (4) MMO prices are based on geography and product classes; (5) higher raw milk prices for Class I and II products are based on the price for Class III products; (6) the free-market price for Grade B milk, which is not covered by MMO, determines the price for Class III products; (7) the price support program acts as a floor price for commercial milk sales; (8) because the dairy program's market environment has changed substantially since its inception, the program's components may be unnecessary today; and (9) two issues that need consideration during the farm bill reauthorization are the outdated premises for pricing milk under MMO, which lead to excessive milk production and inequitable producer prices, and price supports' creation of barriers to a more market-oriented dairy industry. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR.pdf GAO/RCED-95-97BR https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR Briefing Report GAO/RCED-95-97BR; Federal Dairy Programs: Information on Dairy Pricing and Related 1995 Farm Bill Issues; Dairy industry Dairy products Farm income stabilization programs Price regulation Commodity marketing Price supports Agricultural production Agricultural policies Food supply International trade USDA Milk Marketing Order Program USDA Dairy Price-Support Program