U.S. Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng said he would not agree to an extension of the 18-month whole dairy herd buyout program set to expire later this year. Speaking at the Agriculture Department to representatives of the U.S. National Cattlemens Association Lyng said some dairymen asked the program be extended. But he said the Reagan administration which opposed the whole herd buyout program in the 1985 farm bill would not agree to an extension. The program begun in early 1986 is to be completed this summer. U.S. cattlemen bitterly opposed the scheme complaining that increased dairy cow slaughter drove cattle prices down last year.
NO EXTENSION ON U.S. DAIRY HERD BUYOUT - LYNG