Milk in the Pacific Northwest Marketing Area; Notice of Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Tentative Marketing Agreement and Order

Résumé

A public hearing is being held to consider proposals that would amend certain pooling provisions of the Pacific Northwest order. One proposal calls for eliminating certain supply plant qualification standards that currently allow cooperative associations which operate supply plants to include milk delivered direct from farms to pool distributing plants as a qualifying shipment for determining pool eligibility; prohibiting a pool plant operator from including milk diverted to pool distributing plants as a qualifying shipment for pooling; adding a provision that would provide for two or more cooperative pool manufacturing plants to operate as a system for meeting the shipment requirements for pooling; and establishing qualification standards for manufacturing plants located within the marketing area. A second proposal would reduce the amount of milk that a pool plant may divert during the months of March through August and add a "touch base" provision that would require at least 6 days milk production of a dairy farmer be physically received at a pool plant in order to be eligible for diversion. Proponents have requested that the proposals be handled on an emergency basis.