This was truly a compromise amendment. Yes, Quota holders were going to receive less income on the pounds of quota that they held, but they were still receiving more income than the class 1 market is generating.

Last year, the California Class 1 market only generated $0.95 per cwt for all quota holders, yet some quota holders received as much as $1.70 per cwt. This was not fair to anyone in the state and contrasted the original intent of the quota program. The real advantage that this amendment presented to quota holders is the strengthening of the “hardship language.”

The Producer Review Board had been continuing to kick hardship cases down the road, with the hopes that the language in the “Konyn Amendment” would close loopholes that could gut the quota pro-gram from the inside out.

Moving forward, it appears that the courts will now need to decide the meaning of “hardship cases” in the quota program language, with the distinct possibility that many dairymen will file successful hard-ship cases and dilute the funding available for the quota program.

By Pete Hardin

Originally published in The Milkweed March 2025 edition