Culver Co-sponsors Key Legislation to Help PA Dairy Farmers
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Lynda Culver (R-Northumberland/Snyder) says the timing was perfect.
“During a meeting on Wednesday with Pennsylvania Farm Bureau members from Northumberland and Snyder counties, I learned the same dairy-related bills we were discussing just advanced out of committee,” said Culver. “It was news the Farm Bureau wanted to hear, and action we need to take to support our milk producers.”
Culver is referring to three pieces of legislation she is cosponsoring that were passed unanimously by the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and may now be considered by the full House:
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House Bill 223 - Would create Keystone Opportunity Dairy Zones to help locate new dairy processing plants in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania’s more than 500 dairy farms are second only to Wisconsin,” Culver said. “We have plenty of milk to take to market but could use more facilities to produce additional varieties of milk products.”
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House Bill 224 - Would ensure Milk Marketing Board premiums get to struggling Pennsylvania dairy farmers.
“We pay a bit more for the milk we buy but the premium was designed to support dairy farmers in the Commonwealth,” added Culver. “Farmers are questioning if that premium is being accurately collected and distributed to them. House Bill 224 would increase transparency in the Milk Marketing Board’s accounting process.”
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House Bill 2397 - Would return whole milk to Pennsylvania schools.
“Federal regulations enacted during the Obama administration removed whole and reduced fat milk from school cafeterias and replaced it with skim milk, much to the dismay of students’ taste buds,” Culver commented. “The result has been trash cans loaded with milk cartons and vital nutrients never reaching young bodies that need them. The Whole Milk in Pennsylvania Schools Act becoming law would be a win for dairy farmers and the health of our young people.”
For more information about this legislation, or any other state-related issue, contact Culver’s district office in Sunbury located at
106 Arch St., by calling 570-286-5885, or toll-free at 1-800-924-9060.
Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver
108th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
Slittle@pahousegop.com
LyndaCulver.com / Facebook.com/RepCulver