Agency seeks minor fix to ensure milk producers can request hearings when contracts are ended

Steve Collier of the Agency of Agriculture told the Senate committee that section 5 of S.323 simply corrects a drafting error in longstanding statute governing milk‑purchase contracts. “This is really very simple. It's just correcting a typo,” Collier said, explaining the current text mistakenly says a purchaser requests a hearing when, in practice, a producer would request review.

The statute gives producers a right to contest a buyer’s termination of a milk supply relationship and to request an agency hearing; if a producer files for a hearing, the purchaser’s termination is stayed while the agency decides the dispute. Collier said the administrative hearing works like a mini‑trial: both parties present evidence, the agency reaches findings of fact, and legal questions may be appealed to court.

Committee members asked how often this process is invoked. Collier said such termination disputes are uncommon — “a handful in the last 5 to 8 years” — but the protection is important for small producers who otherwise face immediate contract loss. Members discussed that purchasers range from large cooperatives to smaller buyers and that parties can voluntarily settle (for example, with a buyout) instead of pursuing the hearing.

The agency did not propose substantive changes to the hearing process beyond correcting the party name in the statute; staff said the correction is intended to align the statutory language with how the protection actually operates. The committee advised staff to be prepared to answer questions on the floor about the change. The committee did not take a formal vote on section 5 during the session described.