Democracy for Dairy Producers Act of 2005

The Democracy for Dairy Producers Act of 2005 (S. 838) aims to change how dairy farmers participate in federal referendums regarding milk marketing regulations. Under current rules, large dairy cooperatives are often permitted to cast a single "bloc vote" on behalf of all their members, which can sometimes override the preferences of individual farmers.

This bill would require cooperatives to notify their members of upcoming votes and disclose how the cooperative intends to vote. Most importantly, it would allow individual farmers to cast their own ballots independently, requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to subtract those individual votes from the cooperative’s total to ensure every farmer's specific preference is accurately counted.