In politics, bureaucrats in Washington may be thinking they know better than you regarding your kids. Child labor laws were examined Wednesday by the Small Business Committee in the House, according to National Milk’s Chris Galen in Thursday’s DairyLine. 

Last fall, the Department of Labor submitted its first major rewrite of child farm labor laws, which would prevent children under 16 from operating power-driven machinery, working with livestock on horseback, or working around breeding cattle, all common activities on dairy farms, Galen said. The Federation is concerned this could further affect the labor challenges and needs that dairy operations already have, he added.

“Failure to reform immigration laws has dairy farmers between a rock and a hard place,” Galen charged. “As to whom they hire, and now the government is looking at regulations that could further reduce the amount of family labor that’s available on dairy farms.”

Meanwhile, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted to remove truck weight reform language from the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act, also known as the highway bill. NMPF President & CEO Jerry Kozak said they were disappointed with the action. 

“As dairy farmers and members of dairy cooperatives, we are affected every day by transportation policies that do not reflect the needs and demands of today’s commercial environment,” Kozak charged.

“Building on the overwhelming success of pilot programs in Maine and Vermont, which Congress recently extended for an additional 20 years, truck weight reform has proven to be a responsible approach to raising truck weight limits. This allows American businesses to meet consumer demand with fewer trucks, removing unnecessary congestion from the roads, lessening our dependence on fossil fuels, reducing our carbon footprint and improving shipping productivity. We need reform now, not after a three year study.”

Farm milk prices continue to head down. The USDA announced the January 2012 Federal order benchmark Class III price at $17.05 per cwt. down $1.72 from December, but $3.57 above January 2011, $2.82 above California’s comparable 4b cheese milk price, $2.82 above California’s comparable 4b cheese milk price and equates to $1.47 per gallon. 

Looking ahead, Class III futures were trading late Friday morning as follows: $16.17 per cwt. for February; $15.88 for March; $15.95, April; $16.44, May; and $16.70 for June. The peak was $17.09 in September. The January Class IV price is $16.56, down 31 cents from December, but 14 cents above a year ago.

The NASS-surveyed cheese price averaged $1.6097 per pound, down 19.7 cents from December. Butter averaged $1.59, down 2.2 cents. Nonfat dry milk averaged $1.3942, down 2.6 cents, and dry whey averaged 68.76 cents, up 3.4 cents.

California’s comparable 4b cheese milk price is $14.23, down 91 cents from December, and $1.74 above a year ago. The 4a butter-powder price is $16.18, down 41 cents from December and 31 cents below January 2011. 

Increased volumes of milk available to cheese plants are allowing some manufacturers to increase production, according to USDA’s Dairy Market News. Others are waiting for orders to arrive before increasing production. Buyers are reluctant to place additional new orders while the market is trending lower.

The cash Cheddar blocks closed the first Friday of February at $1.4850 per pound, down 2.5 cents on the week, and 32.5 cents below a year ago. The barrels rolled three quarters of a cent lower but regained it on Friday to close at $1.4950, 28 cents below a year ago. Sixteen cars of block traded hands on the week and nine of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price edged 0.7 cent lower, to $1.5832, while the barrels averaged $1.5788, down 2.7 cents.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Lee Mielke may write to him in care of this publication.