Dairy's WIC hit

For fresh produce marketers, the USDA's proposed rule that would add fruit and vegetable vouchers to WIC food packages is a slam-bam winner, both to the industry and to WIC participants. But there are other voices. Here is a letter posted to the USDA's Web site about the proposed rule from the Council of Northeast Farmer Cooperatives, a group of dairy outfits:
From the letter:

Reduction in dairy products in the WIC program If the rules as proposed are implemented fluid milk sales to the program would fall by 23%. For cheese it is estimated that the decline in sales would be 35% or 40 million pounds. The total value of the loss in sales of dairy products would be about $400 million or 29% of current WIC annual expenditures on dairy products. These reductions in the use of dairy products will clearly affect both the short and long term nutritional benefits of WIC in negative way.


TK: This excerpt really doesn't address WIC participants being negatively affected. It's all about dairy farmers' incomes. And the fact Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns well known upbringing on a dairy farm in Iowa can't make this decision easy for him. Still, I think Johanns is committed to acting in accordance with federal dietary guidelines and adding fruit and vegetable vouchers. Perhaps the easiest play of this issue would be to delay it until the next Administration; we can only hope Johanns was serious when he said he wanted his people to get this rule processed by September.


One thing about the dairy folks, though, is they are committed to promotion. Here is an Adage story how dairy assessments are funding a branded "emoticon" to teens.