Milk in the Central 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 and related provisions of the Central order. Proposals include amending the pool supply plant and pool supply plant system provisions of the order, eliminating the provision for a cooperative supply plant and amending the portion of the producer milk definition that specifies the percentage of a handler's milk that may be diverted to nonpool plants. Another proposed amendment to the order's pooling provisions would allow milk diverted to a nonpool plant before the producer's milk is delivered to a pool plant to be considered producer milk and allow the producer's milk to retain its association with the market for any months during which the handler fails to pool the producer's milk under any order. Other proposals would provide for establishing separate pooling provisions by state of origin for milk from areas outside the Central order marketing area, preventing the pooling of milk that is already pooled on a State marketwide order and increasing minimum partial payments to producers and cooperative associations. Proponents have requested that these issues be handled on an emergency basis.