Dairy Bill is law!

The Governor signed the Dairy Stabilization bill last week. It is chapter 310 of the acts of 2008. Here is the press release that we put out last week. Congratulations to all involved and especially to the farm community that worked so hard to make this happen. As Senator Stan Rosenberg pointed out at the time, this was a very speedy conclusion to our work. State government in the past two years; placed money into a supplemental budget, filed legislation to create a task force and had that task force meet in extensive sessions over the winter. We then submitted a report for the task force. That report was written as legislation. Again legislation was filed and passed to give relief to the dairy farm community. A lot of hard work was done and that work needs to continue into the future. However, this was a big step towards stabilization of prices for our local farmers and that means a great deal.

Representative Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams), Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington), and the House of Representatives enacted An Act Relative to the Preservation of Dairy Farms today. This legislation stems from a report to the legislature from the Massachusetts Dairy Farm Revitalization Task Force. The bill is consistent with the report’s recommendations, which called for an income tax credit for farmers, the creation of a Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board, and a linked loan program, among other programs.

“This bill is the right first step towards ensuring the economic viability of dairy farmers throughout the Commonwealth. After filing the emergency declaration and allocating $3.6 million in relief to dairy farmers last May, I am pleased that we were able to offer temporary solutions through this bill. With rising gas and feedstock prices, the cost of production is rapidly increasing and the tax credit portion is crucial because it provides relief and stability to dairy farmers and their families when they need it most” said Bosley.

The main part of the bill is a tax credit that is mirrored after similar legislation in South Carolina. The 90% refundable tax credit allows farmers to take a credit when the federal milk marketing order price for the applicable market drops below a trigger price established by the Commissioner of Agricultural Resources. The Department of Agriculture is charged with developing regulations to ensure that the cost of the tax credit to the state ranged from zero when milk prices are sufficient to cover Massachusetts farmers’ production expenses to no more than $4 million.

“This comprehensive bill provides many tools that will help our dairy farmers to be economically viable and competitive in an increasingly complex segment of our state’s agricultural economy. Our dairy farms provide thousands of acres of open space, recreational land, and water recharge areas that contribute to both our quality of life and the protection of natural resources. Additionally, a thriving dairy community is important to Massachusetts as more and more people realize the value of local foods as more being more nutritious, sustainable, and better for our environment and economy” said Kulik.

Other portions of the bill include: allowing the Department of Agricultural Resources to establish a program and regulations to permit the use of discount coupons in the sale of milk, extending from 2 to 10 miles, the span that individuals may drive farm equipment without registration, authorizing farmers who have an APR to qualify for farm viability technical assistance and implementation funding and creating a commission to study and recommend options for updating farming technology to promote energy conservation

Members of the task force from the legislature included Representative Bosley, Representative Kulik, Representative Lewis Evangelidis of Holden, Senator Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst, Senator Stephen Brewer of Barre, and Senator Michael Knapik of Westfield.