Delivering Dairy’s Message
AMPI members hike the Hill to talk policy priorities
After a full day of dairy policy talks during the Midwest Dairy Coalition Fly-In on Capitol Hill, AMPI representatives pause near the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
TUESDAY, June 20
3:25 a.m. Sunrise is still more than two hours away as AMPI dairy farmer-owner Kevin Knapp heads to the airport in Sioux Falls, S.D. He hesitates for a moment, thinking about what he’s leaving behind at his Knapp Time Dairy. There are cows to milk, hay to cut and a seemingly endless list of summertime jobs to complete. The Larchwood, Iowa, dairyman presses on, leaving the chores to wife Cari and their five children.
He’s heading to Washington, D.C., alongside fellow AMPI corporate board members Tom Hoscheit, Caledonia, Minn., and Tom Jandt, West Salem, Wis. They, too, have prioritized participation in the Midwest Dairy Coalition Fly-In on Capitol Hill. Also making the trip is Sarah Schmidt, AMPI’s vice president of marketing.
The delegation will spend the next two days hiking Capitol Hill to meet face-to-face with those who are crafting the next farm bill. Their mission: represent Midwest dairy farmers in federal policy development.
7:00 a.m. Knapp’s flight lands in Minneapolis where he meets up with the rest of the dairy delegation. The trip is the first time Jandt and Hoscheit have traveled to Washington to lobby for Midwest dairy farmer interests. Knapp made the trek previously while serving on the AMPI Young Cooperator Steering Committee.
Preparing to talk dairy policy with lawmakers are, from left, Steve Etka, Midwest Dairy Coalition; AMPI corporate board members Tom Hoscheit, Caledonia, Minn.; Tom Jandt, New Salem, Wis.; and Kevin Knapp, Larchwood, Iowa. Also participating is Kyle Levetzow, Dodgeville, Wis., president of Rolling Hills Dairy Producers Cooperative, a milk procurement co-op in southern Wisconsin.
8:00 a.m. During the flight to Capitol Hill, the group does some last-minute studying of facts and talking points. With the farm bill set to expire in September, now is the time to make sure the co-op’s priorities are heard on the:
Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program. This safety net for dairy farmers needs tweaking to allow for production history updates and expanding the volume of milk that can be covered at the Tier 1 level.
Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO). AMPI supports the addition of legislation that would require mandatory participation in a plant cost-study analysis every two years.
1:30 p.m. Steve Etka, policy director for the Midwest Dairy Coalition, briefs the delegation on the 2023 Farm Bill progress and dairy policy priorities. Etka has represented the coalition and AMPI’s interests in Washington since 1998. Fellow coalition members include Bongards Creameries, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, First District Association, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative and Rolling Hills Dairy Producers Cooperative.
3:30 p.m. The delegation sits down with U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad of Minnesota, a member of the U.S. House Ag Committee. “My number-one priority is to ensure this farm bill is written by farmers, for farmers and by rural communities, for rural communities,” Finstad says.
5:00 p.m. Talk centers on reforming the FMMO during a meeting with U.S. Rep. G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania, chair of the House Agriculture Committee. “He is so dialed in to dairy… what a champion for dairy,” Knapp remarks about the congressman.
8:30 p.m. Hoscheit declares an after-hours tour of the U.S. Capitol arranged by Rep. Finstad as “awesome.” The delegation meets House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
Kevin Knapp, Larchwood, Iowa, left, one of three AMPI dairy farmer-owners participating in the Midwest Dairy Coalition Fly-In on Capitol Hill — delivers dairy’s message to U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Member Joni Ernst of Iowa, right, while attending her weekly constituent coffee. Listening in is Steph Carlson, the senator’s lead agricultural advisor.
WEDNESDAY, June 21
8:00 a.m. Knapp gets a few moments to deliver dairy’s message to Senate Agriculture Committee member Joni Ernst of Iowa while attending her weekly constituent coffee.
9:30 a.m. Knapp and Schmidt visit the office of Iowa senior senator, Chuck Grassley, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
10:15 a.m. The delegation makes stops in the offices of Minnesota senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to thank them for co-signing a letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee in support of AMPI priorities for DMC program updates.
12:00 p.m. After visiting with Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Jandt remarks: “When we reinforce the points they have heard from lobbyists, it puts real faces to the programs they are working on.”
1:00 p.m. The delegation sits down for an in-depth review of Midwest dairy policy priorities with the Senate Agriculture Committee dairy staff.
Tom Hoscheit, Caledonia, Minn., details AMPI positions on Federal Milk Marketing Order reform while visiting with U.S. Rep. G.T. Thompson, chair of the House Agriculture Committee.
2:00 p.m. House Ag Committee member Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin shares ideas about immigration reform with the group. Fruitful conversations are held with Iowa’s Rep. Randy Feenstra, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin.
2:45 p.m. A quick stop at the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) ice cream social allows the delegation to connect with IDFA CEO Michael Dykes, as well as former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson of Minnesota, who now works as an agricultural lobbyist.
5:00 p.m. At the last meeting of the jam-packed day, the group personally thanks Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin for authoring a letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee in support of DMC updates.
7:00 p.m. The delegation sits down for dinner and summarizes the day. They succeeded in visiting the offices of every senator from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as key leaders of the House Agriculture Committee. “I believe they heard us on the DMC: It’s not broken; we don’t need to start over, just need to tweak it,” Hoscheit says. The group agrees FMMO reform will get attention and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act has significant momentum.
“I was impressed with how busy these people are and yet how respectful and engaged they were when we were talking to them,” Tom Jandt, New Salem, Wis., said about his Capitol Hill meetings. Here, he discusses the Dairy Margin Coverage program with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
THURSDAY, June 22
7:45 a.m. A morning breakfast meeting with Paul Bleiberg, senior vice president of government relations for the National Milk Producers Federation, provides an opportunity for the group to plan next steps.
10:00 a.m. The AMPI delegation arrives at Reagan National Airport to catch flights to the Midwest, thankful to have had face-to-face time with so many congressional delegates. Now it’s back to the farm. Kevin Knapp looks at the arrival time on his ticket, declaring he’ll make it home for the day’s second milking. DD
