Senator Aubertine to the USDA..
"Pay our farmers what they are owed..
Plus interest"!

ALBANY (April 21, 2009)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine and the entire New York State Senate are sending a message to the United States Department of Agriculture: Make sure our dairy farmers get what is rightfully theirs.

The Senate unanimously approved a resolution (J.1135) sponsored by Sen. Aubertine calling on the USDA to correct reporting errors in milk prices that short-changed farmers nationwide around $6.4 million over a two month period, investigate how long these errors have gone unchecked, and then pay back the money owed to each farmer with interest as early as possible.
“Reporting the price of nonfat dry milk incorrectly within a complex milk pricing system means our farmers were not getting a fair price for their milk,” said Sen. Aubertine, who is the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “The USDA has already acknowledged the error for two months, but it seems to go back further than that and we need action. These mistakes are partly responsible for sinking milk prices that have made it harder and harder for our dairy farmers to make ends meet.”
USDA Animal Welfare Act