TOWNSHEND — The dairy pricing system in the United States is broken. It is antiquated, dating back to the 1930s when markets were not as complex as they are today, and simply does not work as originally intended. And although there has always been some volatility and market fluctuation in dairy pricing, the swings are becoming more dramatic and occur more often.
This most recent downturn in prices is the worst yet. Cost of production is almost twice what farmers are getting paid for fluid milk and it's predicted that these low prices will be in effect for a longer period than originally thought. This crisis must be a wakeup call to move the entire industry to put tools in place to better stabilize the market. These volatile fluctuations are not good for anyone - not the farmer, consumer, cooperatives or our communities. This is the time to make significant, meaningful changes in federal dairy policy and other risk management strategies.
One state acting alone can have very limited impact on dairy pricing due to interstate commerce laws. The over-reaching changes that need to be made must be done on a national level. This will require the dairy industry to come together in a way that it has historically not been able to. Recently, the organization Dairy Farmers Working Together held a meeting in Burlington that drew more than 200 farmers and industry leaders with panelists from Vermont, Idaho, Florida and California. This was an encouraging step in opening the needed dialogue of alternatives, but much more needs to be done.
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Industry leaders need to step up and aggressively take the lead. Cooperatives need to work together in reaching out to their farmer members and to their Congressional Delegations to educate federal leaders about the enormity of this problem and what needs to be done to fix it once and for all. The program Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) is an admirable first step, but participation from all dairy cooperatives and independent dairy farmers is critical going forward so that all benefit equally as opposed to some being subsidized by the rest.
Right now, during this severe pricing crisis, dairy cooperatives have the opportunity to demonstrate their collective leadership in bringing together all the voices of the dairy industry for a meaningful dialogue. To not do so would be a travesty considering the situation U.S. dairy farmers are facing.
Agencies and Departments of Agriculture throughout the U.S. should also work to unite dairy farmers. Their role is particularly important as the dairy cooperatives do not have 100 percent members of dairy farmers across the Northeast and in the United States. The Secretary of Agriculture in Pennsylvania and the Commissioner of Agriculture in New York are working collaboratively with Vermont to discuss these issues with the dairy cooperatives in the Northeast.
Countless times we have found ourselves in a similar situation - milk prices go down drastically, we circle the wagons and try to come up with solutions. Prices then increase and it's back to business as usual. This particular downturn, and the impact it has had and will continue to have on the dairy industry in Vermont and the United States, cannot be ignored. Let's all work together to find some meaningful solutions during this time of crisis.