AMS No. 234-08

Becky Unkenholz (202) 720-8998

becky.unkenholz@usda.gov

Billy Cox (202) 720-8998

billy.cox@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24, 2008 – The U. S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will terminate a proceeding on proposed amendments to modify the formulas used to determine Class I and Class II prices in all Federal milk marketing orders.

In response to a proposal by the National Milk Producers Federation to reconsider formulas for Class I and Class II milk, USDA held a hearing Dec. 11-15, 2006, in Pittsburgh, Pa. USDA is terminating the proceeding because the evidence presented at the hearing was neither compelling nor provided a basis to make a reasoned decision for recommending adoption or denial of the proposal.

The termination notice will be published in today’s Federal Register. The termination notice and hearing record is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service Dairy Programs website at http://www.ams.usda.gov/dairy. Producers and processors with questions about the termination should contact their local milk market administrator’s office listed below:

Northeast: Erik F. Rasmussen

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

P.O. Box 51478, Boston, MA 02205-1478

Tel. (617) 737-7199; email: erasmussen@fedmilk1.com

Appalachian: Harold H. Friedly, Jr.

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

P.O. Box 18030, Louisville, KY 40261-0030

Tel. (502) 499-0040; email: friedly@malouisville.com

Florida and Southeast: Sue L. Mosley

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

P.O. Box 491778, Lawrenceville, GA 30049

Tel. (770) 682-2501; email: smosley@fmmatlanta.com

Upper Midwest: H. Paul Kyburz

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

Suite 210, 4570 West 77th St., Minneapolis, MN 55435-5037

Tel. (952) 831-5292; email: pkyburz@fmma30.com

Central: Robert E. Vander Linden

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

P.O. Box 14650, Shawnee Mission, KS 66285-4650

Tel. (913) 495-9300; email: vanderlinden@fmmacentral.com

Mideast: David Z. Walker

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

P.O. Box 5102, Brunswick, OH 44212

Tel. (330) 225-4758; email: dwalker@fmmaclev.com

Pacific Northwest and Arizona: James R. Daugherty

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

1930-220th St., SE., Suite 102 Bothell, WA 98021-8471

Tel. (425) 487-6009; email: jdaugherty@fmmaseattle.com

Southwest: J. Richard Fleming

USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs

P.O. Box 110939, Carrollton, TX 75011-0939

Tel. (972) 245-6060; email: sw.order@dallasma.com