Editor's note: The original article has been updated to include comments from the International Dairy Foods Association. With the two-year anniversary of the implementation of the change in the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class I skim milk price formula near, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is closer to asking the USDA for an emergency expedited hearing to address the issue. Proposals from other organizations regarding the Class I pricing formula and other FMMO reforms may be forthcoming as well.

Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) were created in the mid-1930s to bring order to milk marketed in the U.S. At the time, milk was primarily consumed in fluid form, which is classified in FMMOs as Class I for pricing purposes. As recently as 1960, 65.4% of all milk priced through FMMOs was classified as Class I milk.

With producer milk checks inequitably influenced by current milk marketing and pricing practices, a grassroots dairy farmer effort is growing louder in its call to seek and implement reforms to the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system.