CHENANGO COUNTY – Following what’s been called one of the “worst” years in memory for the dairy industry, the state has set aside $30 million in assistance for farmers who produced milk in 2006.
Producers will have until Friday, April 27 to file with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets in order to tap their share of the funding, created through the New York State Dairy Assistance Program. Applications became available April 13 and will be administered through dairy cooperatives and processors. If not affiliated with a cooperative, applications can also be found at the Chenango County Farm Service Agency in Norwich, on-line at the Ag & Markets website or through the mail upon request to that department.
Completed forms must be post-marked, mailed, or hand-delivered on or before April 27.
“They (the applications) are very simple to complete as along as dairy farmers have their 2006 receipts and their MILC contract number,” said Chenango County Cornell Cooperative Extension Ag educator Janet Pfromm.
Visit www.agmkt.state.ny.us/DI/dairyassistanceprogram.html to download an application directly or call 1-800-554-4501. Chenango County Farm Services Executive Director Robert Almeter added that cooperatives should be delivering applications and milk weight information sometime this week.
“Dairy farmers experienced one of the worst years on record in 2006,” state Ag Commissioner Patrick Hooker said April 13, “and continue to struggle with low prices, escalating costs and acquired debt from the past year. We realize that time is of the essence and therefore our goal is to get this $30 million into the pockets of dairy farmers as soon and as fairly as possible.”
Dairy farms that produced in 2006 and were still in operation as of April 1, 2007 are eligible to be reimbursed for up to 4.8 million pounds of milk. It’s currently estimated that producers will receive somewhere between $.30 to $.35 per hundredweight for their 2006 receipts, although a rate won’t be calculated until all eligible applications are filed, state officials said.
“This funding is certainly going to help encourage our dairy farmers to continue their family operations,” said Assemblyman Bill Magee, chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee. “However, by no means is this a permanent solution to the problem. As an industry, we need to continue to seek a mechanism that will stabilize milk prices and improve the overall farm economy.”
Low milk prices, bad weather, high fuel and feed costs, and increased debt have pushed many local farms to the brink, several area farm organizations contend. According to figures from the USDA, 460 dairy farms closed in New York state last year alone.
Ag & Markets statistics say New York produces 12 billion pounds of milk per year, and is the third largest dairy state in the U.S. The department adds that, statewide, for every job created on a dairy farm, 1.24 jobs are created locally and for every dollar of output from a dairy farm $.83 is spent in the community.