NORWICH – Farmers across Upstate New York are standing in solidarity against a federally regulated milk pricing system they argue isn’t fair, especially for small farms.
Dairy farmers and supporters of the dairy industry rallied at the Classic Car Museum in Norwich on Tuesday. Despite existing federal safety net programs designed to help small dairy farms stay afloat, many local farmers say it simply isn’t enough to keep pace with increasing costs of production.
Tuesday’s meeting was organized by the Progressive Agricultural Organization, a Pennsylvania-based lobbyist group advocating for governmental help for dairy farmers. The organization is affiliated with the National Family Farm Coalition of Washington DC.
The cost of operating a dairy farm currently exceeds the minimum price of milk, and that sends a clear message, said Arden Tewksbury, manager of the Progressive Agriculture Organization: Dairy farmers are losing.
“You shouldn’t allow a small amount of surplus milk to destroy the prices of the 95 percent of the milk that’s being produced,” Tewksbury said. “If we don’t do anything, if these prices stay here this year or next year, there will be so many dairy farmers that go out of business that you won’t be able to count them.”
According to the Progressive Agricultural Organization, the average New York dairy farm produces 2.7 million pounds of milk annually, but the average farmer is losing $30,500 more per year compared to 2009.
Milk prices have fallen by nearly 30 percent over the last two years. Prices have dropped 25 cents just since Feb. 1, Tewksbury said. Those prices are expected to drop even further by the end of the year – as much as 40 percent.
In 2015, farmers were paid $17.14 per 100 pounds (or cwt) of milk they produced. That price failed to meet the national average cost of production of $23.42, leading to a $6.28/cwt loss to farmers. This year looks even worse, with farmers facing losses of an estimated $7.92/cwt.
The Progressive Agriculture Organization is prompting dairy farmers to call their state and federal legislators for help.
“What we need is a pricing formula that prices the milk correctly in the domestic market in the United States,” Tewksbury added. “We need to take care of domestic dairy farmers.”
“It’s a crisis,” said retired New Berlin dairy farmer Ken Dibbell, one of Chenango County’s avid dairy advocates.
In a recent letter addressing U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, Dibbell said small farms can’t survive under current conditions and that farmers deserve fair pay for their product.
“My concern is the elimination of the family farm with less than 200 cows … There is no money to pay for upgrade of facilities and equipment on the few remaining family farms that are hanging by a thread and are failing day by day as we speak,” he stated.
Tuesday’s rally was also attended by representatives of Assemblymen William Magee (D-121st Assembly District) and Clifford Crouch (R-122nd Assembly District), as well as Republican congressional hopeful John Salka who’s campaigning for New York’s 22nd Congressional District.