Northeast Dairy Compact

The Northeast Dairy Compact was an interstate compact created by the New England states and approved by Congress, most recently in Pub.L. 104-127, § 147 (1996), the purpose of which was to regulate the wholesale price of fluid milk in the member states and take other actions to preserve the economic viability of dairy farming in the region.

The compact created a Northeast Dairy Compact Commission, based in Montpelier, Vermont, charged with setting prices and regulating bulk milk handlers. After controversy and claims of price inflation, in 1999 Congress limited the duration of its authorization of the compact, which ceased operation on September 30, 2001 after intense lobbying both in favor and against its extension. Federal price regulation in the dairy industry continues.