Contact: Dan Kerestes, (202) 720-3570
NASS Conducts Review of Dairy Product Price Data
WASHINGTON,
Apr. 20, 2007 – After confirming that one dairy
product plant made errors in its weekly reporting of price
data for nonfat dry milk, USDA’s National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) will ask 39 plants to review and
revise weekly price data and sales volumes reported over the
past 52 weeks.
NASS has determined that one nonfat dry milk plant erroneously included some
long-term, fixed prices sales data in its weekly reports. NASS guidelines explicitly
exclude the reporting of forward pricing sales in which the selling price was
set 30 days or more before the transaction was completed. As part of an annual
effort to ensure proper reporting, NASS reiterated these guidelines with all
participating plants in October 2006. At that time, the plants indicated they
were in compliance.
At NASS’s request, the plant in question promptly revised its reports for
the previous three weeks. Based on this, NASS revised the weekly nonfat dry milk
price and volume for the weeks of March 31, March 24, and March 17. These revisions,
published April 13, resulted in an increase ranging from approximately 6 to 9
cents per pound in the price of nonfat dry milk. Announced Federal milk order
minimum milk prices using unrevised data will not be changed. The products
of milk to which those minimum prices apply have already been priced and/or sold.
Within the next 45 days, NASS will contact all 39 participating dairy product
plants to review reporting criteria and request that they verify and, if necessary,
revise their nonfat dry milk data reported over the past year. Based on this
information, NASS will issue any needed revisions to previously published weekly
prices and volumes for nonfat dry milk. This process will provide producers and
the marketplace with a clearer understanding of the overall impact of the incorrect
reports. NASS will protect the confidentiality of individual plant reports as
required by law.
Each week, NASS contacts plants that commercially produce 1 million or more pounds
of manufactured dairy products to collect specific information about price trends
in the market. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) uses the data to establish
minimum values for milk under the Federal Milk Marketing Order program. The data
also are used by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to implement the Milk Income Loss
Contract program.
AMS is working to establish a program under which it could verify the accuracy
of the information being reported to NASS. Verification would occur through
an auditing process.
