In 1961, Oregon dairy farmers hurriedly put together a legislative bid because the price for their milk had suddenly dropped 19 percent. Three hundred farmers encouraged legislators to pay attention by gathering one evening in Salem. The Producer Milk Stabilization Law, passed by the legislature in only 2.5 weeks, directed the Oregon Department of Agriculture to set a fair minimum price to the milk producer. The legislation was a stop-gap measure to protect the dairy farmers from having their payments totally dictated by distributors. (Credit: Statesman Journal, 4.21.61)
