NFU State Officials Participate In Dairy Workshops
US - Farmers Union Presidents Joaquin Contente, California Farmers Union (CFU), and Darin Von Ruden, Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU), spoke at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) joint workshop on dairy last week in Madison, Wisconsin.The workshop was designed to focus on examining competition in the dairy industry.
“The intention of these workshops is to bring together individuals with a wide range of knowledge and experience in the dairy industry,” said National Farmers Union Vice President of Government Relations, Chandler Goule. “Presidents Contente and Von Ruden are very important voices for NFU and America’s family farmers and ranchers. We are pleased they were selected for the panel.”
This workshop is the third in a series of five designed by USDA/DOJ to promote dialogue between interested parties and develop further learning with respect to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture.
“Dairy producers are currently experiencing the worst crisis in the history of the industry,” said Mr Goule. “NFU calls on Congress and the administration to take all appropriate actions to help sustain family dairy farmers throughout this period of crisis and these workshops are a great start.”
US Attorney General Eric Holder, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Christine Varney, opened the event with remarks and a round table discussion.
The workshops were first announced by Secretary Vilsack and Attorney General Holder on 5 August 2009. These are the first joint USDA/DOJ workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. Attendance at the workshops is free and open to the public
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