NORWICH – Last week, county lawmakers officially joined dairy producers and supporters who are petitioning the federal government to do the right thing in relation to the price of milk at the farm gate.
The Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution calling upon U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack to scrutinize the federal milk pricing structure and convene the hearings necessary for establishing prices that match the cost of production. South New Berlin farmer Ken Dibble initiated the measure before a meeting of the Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee in September.
“We need the support from the public on this,” Dibble said. “It’s a long shot, and I’m not sure that Congress is capable of doing what’s right, but the Secretary of Ag has to go for parity, and is authorized to have a hearing on milk orders.”
Nationally, a grass roots effort has been fostered to petition Secretary Vilsack to fix a reasonable price for milk. He is required to ascertain the parity prices of such commodities prior to fixing minimum prices to be paid to producers according to federal agricultural regulation, Dibble said.
Dibble has spent the past 25 years of his life fighting for fair milk prices, in Chenango County, New York and on the federal level, including testifying before Congress. Prices came in at about 80 percent of the cost of production until 1981, he said, but have spiraled downward ever since. He blamed the fall off on cheating scandals at the Chicago Board of Trade and unscrupulous agricultural cooperatives.
“Our farmers shouldn’t be paying to haul their milk from New Berlin to Chobani only 30 miles away, but they are still paying the price of hauling to New York City,” he said, referring to the Greek-yogurt manufacturer in Columbus. “Ninety percent of our milk ought to go to Chobani with no hauling charges at all.”
Chenango County Farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers recently described another stressor related to the state’s yogurt phenomenon. New York farmers traditionally produce high quality, Class I Grade A milk that is used in all beverage milks, but costs more to produce. Yogurt only requires Class II Grade A milk, but Chobani’s contractor, Dairlyea Cooperative, doesn’t make the distinction.
“They are getting paid the blend price of Class I and Class II because Greek yogurt only needs Class II,” said Vickers.
Other factors such as drought, the demand for corn for ethenol instead of animal feed, rising costs for fuel, and environmental regulations are putting a growing number of dairies out of business. The county’s resolution states that absent a realistic pricing structure, “the dairy industry as we know it will become a thing of the past.”
Dibble said individuals who want to participate in the petition process should contact Kathryn Tanner, Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s ag advisor, at 202-224-1560.