Pennsylvania Farm Bureau disappointed with governors veto of milk truck bill

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) recently issued a statement expressing disappointment with Governor Tom Wolf’s veto of a bill that would have provided an exemption allowing milk truck haulers to operate during weather-related commercial travel bans.

House Bill 915, sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Mckean/Cameron/Potter), would have provided a specific and limited exemption that applied only to milk being transported from farms to processing facilities.

“Milk produced on the farm is highly perishable and needs to get to a processing plant within a reasonable time,” PFB President Rick Ebert said. “Dairy farmers have limited on-farm storage, and when their bulk tanks are full, they need to be emptied by a milk hauler. If the hauler is not available, all excess milk must be dumped. Farmers lose thousands of dollars in revenue every time they are forced to dump their milk.”

The PFB said that milk truck haulers are used to driving in poor weather conditions and use tire chains, winter tires and other safety gear that may not be present on other commercial trucks. The organization also noted that there have been several instances in 2019 in which statewide commercial travel bans were issued as a precaution, but weather conditions did not merit the bans.

“There are legitimate instances when commercial and other vehicles should not be traveling on roadways due to severe weather events, and we believe that milk truck haulers (and the companies who employ them) would use common sense when determining whether or not to travel to a farm based on weather and road conditions,” Ebert said.

PFB highlighted the impact that bans on transporting milk during weather events can have on farm families.

“Dairy farmers need compensation for every gallon of milk they produce if they plan to recover from five consecutive years of depressed milk prices,” Ebert said.