The Commission commenced operations as soon as the Secretary made his first finding of a compelling public interest. The governors of the states made their appointments to the Commission delegations while the Secretary was deliberating over the finding. Convened by New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture, the Commission held its first, organizational meeting soon after the finding was issued, in Concord, New Hampshire.
Comprised of the six delegations from the six states, twenty-six members in total met for the first Commission meeting. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont sent five members each; Maine and New Hampshire sent three members each. The Commission counted four state commissioners of agriculture; two state WIC program directors; four processor representatives; one representative of the retail food industry, the head of the Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Agriculture; a farm extension service specialist, the chair of the Maine Milk Commission, three other consumer representatives and ten farmers (one of whom was the Commissioner of Agriculture from Connecticut).
The
Commission went through its organizational phase throughout the fall, adopting
bylaws, holding an election of officers, establishing a committee structure,
adopting a
budget and hiring staff. In
December 1996, the now-formally organized Commission
initiated hearings to determine whether price regulations were needed in the
regional dairy market.