WASHINGTON DC – A bipartisan amendment to jumpstart the process to bring certainty for the nation’s dairy farmers by stabilizing milk pricing, has passed the full Senate as part of the 2012 Farm Bill.   The amendment was authored by U.S. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

“For years, New York’s dairy farms have endured volatility in the market – as feed and fuel costs rise, the price of milk plummeted,” said Senator Gillibrand, New York’s first member of the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years. “When our family farms suffer, our whole state and whole economy suffer. Passing our bipartisan amendment is a strong step to give farmers a better, more just pricing system that they deserve.”

Specifically, the amendment (S. 2190) would allow dairy industry groups to present milk pricing reforms to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for consideration in a public hearing setting, and order the Secretary of Agriculture to release the Department’s final proposal to Congress.

The legislation now awaits final Senate passage as part of the full 2012 Farm Bill, expected as soon as this week.