HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board will hold a public hearing on May 1 to consider an amendment to the Board’s regulations that would require cooperatives to provide a line item on member statements showing the amount of the over-order premium being paid. The hearing is in response to a petition filed by Representative John Lawrence, R-Chester/Lancaster.
Milk dealers are required to show by line item on monthly statements to independent producers and cooperatives the amount of the Board’s over-order premium being paid. Cooperatives do not have a similar requirement regarding payment to their members. Rep. Lawrence requested that the Board address this disparity, noting in his petition that a “Pennsylvania family farmer should know how much of the payment he is getting for the milk sold off his farm comes from a state-mandated premium, regardless of whether that farmer sells his milk to a cooperative or a milk dealer.”
The hearing will begin at 1:15 p.m. in Room 309 of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Building. More information, including the petition, draft language to implement the change and how to participate in the hearing, may be found on the Board’s website at https://www.mmb.pa.gov/Public%20Hearings/Pages/default.aspx and scrolling to “May 1, 2019: Amendment to 7 Pa Code ch 143.” You may also contact Doug Eberly at 717-836-3115 or deberly@pa.gov with additional questions.
— Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board