Wisconsin Bipartisan Support for Milk Hauling Amendment

Area lawmakers and agriculture organizations applauded the inclusion of a Milk Hauling Amendment to the Transportation Bill.

The National Milk Producers Federation and International Dairy Foods Association praised Congress for its Dec. 1 decision to include in a conference report a dairy-specific amendment that would benefit producers, processors and consumers.

The bipartisan amendment, sponsored by Reps. Richard Hanna, NY, and Elizabeth Esty, CT, and championed by House Transportation Committee Conferee Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, gives states the option to issue permits allowing milk haulers to increase their truck weights beyond Interstate Highway System limits. This would allow milk trucks in some states to carry more product without being forced to offload portions of it at other state borders.

The amendment was supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the Senate and House, including Senators Ron Johnson, R-WI, and Tammy Baldwin, D-WI.

The Wisconsin senators joined Sens. Chris Murphy, D-CT, Patrick Leahy, D-VT, Mike Crapo, R-ID, Al Franken, D_MN, Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, Kelly Ayotte, D-NH, Jim Risch, R-ID, and Angus King, I-ME, in sending a letter to bipartisan leaders on the conference committee asking that the final bill allow bulk milk trucks to carry milk without being forced to offload portions, which increases food safety risks for consumers and costs for dairy farmers.

“Each day, more than 12,500 bulk milk trucks pick up milk at farms across the country and move it to over 2,000 processing plants. The transportation of milk is an issue that affects businesses and consumers in every region and in every state,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to support language that was included in the House-passed version of H.R. 22, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act, that would classify milk as a non-divisible load. This provision would allow states to issue special permits to bulk milk trucks, giving them more flexibility to ensure that milk is delivered in a timely manner and in compliance with federal and state food safety and security standards.”

By classifying milk as a non-divisible load, this provision acknowledges that milk cannot be easily divided or dismantled between farms and processing plants.

“Milk is a perishable product that must be sealed for safety and transported quickly. When milk truckers pick up bulk milk, they must load the entire stock of bulk milk that a farm produced that day – not just the amount of milk that would keep the trucker in compliance with state truck weight limits,” the senators wrote. “This is problematic because the amount of milk produced at a farm varies from day-to-day, based on weather, feed, and other factors. As a result, milk truckers perpetually risk being overweight. While milk truckers can break the seal and offload a portion of the milk to bring their truck weight into compliance, doing so increases transportation time and compromises the safety and security of the milk.”

“If passed, fewer vehicles would be needed to transport milk, cutting transportation costs and easing the burden on farmers, consumers and commuters,” said IDFA President and CEO Connie Tipton.

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said the amendment recognizes the specific challenges in transporting milk.

“It’s great to see bipartisan support for something so critical to our dairy producers,” Mulhern said.

The bipartisan agreement comes as part of a massive push by Congress to deal with several pieces of legislation before they adjourn for the year.