DAIRYMEN URGED TO JOIN THE EFFORT IN ASKING THE GOVERNOR TO VETO SB 1121: (By Rob Vandenheuvel)

This past month, SB 1121, introduced by State Senator Dean Florez (D-Bakersfield), breezed through the California legislature, despite opposition from farm groups across the state. The bill, if signed into law, would force employers of agricultural employees to pay overtime wages for hours worked in excess of 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. Under current law, those thresholds are 10 hours per day or 60 hours per week. SB 1121 now sits on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk awaiting either a signature or a veto.

The California Farm Bureau Federation has taken a lead in opposing the legislation and has set up a website where individuals can fill in a few spaces and have an email or letter sent on your behalf to the Governor’s office urging him to veto the bill.

I strongly encourage all of you to visit this website http://capwiz.com/cfbf/issues/alert/?alertid=15204776. There are strong forces trying to force this bill into law, and major papers in the state are urging the Governor to sign the bill. The Governor’s office needs to hear from you, your son, your daughter, your parents, your neighbor, and anyone else you can get to send him the loud and clear message that he needs to veto this bill.

Costa dairy bill faces opposition

By Seth Nidever This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2010 10:53 am

Rep. Jim Costa and four co-sponsors introduced a bill Wednesday in the House that he says will fix the low milk prices that have plagued dairies hit hard by the recession.

But the bill by the Fresno Democrat is already running into resistance in California.

Anything dairy related carries strong interest in Kings County, where the industry produced $670 million worth of milk in 2008. But 2009 was one of the worst years ever for local producers, with dairies losing money and a handful going out of business.

Costa's bill, which still has to get a hearing in a committee, would boost prices paid to farmers by limiting milk production. Producers would only be allowed to grow at a rate the market will support. If they wanted to crank out more milk above those allowable limits, they would pay a fee that would be redistributed to other producers who stayed within the growth limits.

In a press release, Costa's office stated that "this creates a rational system that allows the market to absorb increases in production by providing a tangible financial incentive for most dairies to manage their growth."

For some dairy farmers, any attempt to stabilize prices that have taken a nose dive since 2008 sounds good.

"Right now, we've got to control the market. I know what I got right now is not working," said Hanford dairy operator Eddie Valadao.

But the influential Western United Dairymen, an organization representing about two-thirds of milk production in California, is not supporting the legislation. CEO Mike Marsh said the organization submitted several concerns to Costa last year that have gone unanswered.

WUD is concerned that California wouldn't get fair representation on a board of dairy producers that would be created to run the program. Marsh said California producers should get about 20 percent of the seats, since the state produces about 20 percent of the nation's milk.

He said drafts of the legislation that he's seen don't give California a proportional share.

"Unfortunately, it kind of stacks the deck against the West," he said.

Marsh is also concerned that the timing might not be right. The export market for dairy products is growing, and Marsh is worried that Costa's bill might slow things down.

"You've got a market that's growing very rapidly, and you don't want to effectively take yourself out of it," he said.

Costa could not be immediately reached Wednesday for comment.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432. To comment on this story, go to www.HanfordSentinel.com.