CWT program to be renewed in 2009

June 20, 2008 - - The members of Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) voted this week to continue the historic dairy farmer self-help program through 2009. In a unanimous vote, the committee overseeing the management of CWT endorsed a continuation of the program at the present membership assessment level of 10 cents per hundredweight through calendar year 2009. “In this season of important votes, CWT has won reelection in a landslide, as its members have decided that our industry is better off with this program,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF, which manages CWT. Created five years ago, at a time when farm-level prices were at 20 year lows, CWT used a variety of programs to strengthen and stabilize milk supplies, and improve the economic health of the U.S. dairy producer community. It is currently conducting its latest herd retirement to adjust the size of the U.S. cattle herd, as many dairy farmers have been struggling with dramatically higher costs of production.