Senators Casey and Specter present bill to relieve dairy farmers

Eight Wayne dairy farms have closed in three months

By TOM KANE

WASHINGTON, DC - Small family dairy farms are disappearing before our very eyes. In Wayne County during the last three months, eight have closed due to the disparity in milk pricing.

In order to stem this avalanche, Pennsylvania representatives Arlen Specter, a Republican, and Robert Casey, a Democrat, have introduced two bills in the U.S. Senate to help dairy farmers get a fair price for their milk and modernize the federal dairy program.

The first is called the Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act (FMMIA); the second one is the National Dairy Policy Reform (NDPR) bill. Both aim to provide relief and assistance to dairy farmers.

The FMMIA (Senate 1722), which was partially developed by the Progressive Agriculture Organization (ProAG), and the NDPR Bill (Senate 1721) strengthens producers’ prices and prohibits the cost of milk hauling and dairy processing from being charged to the dairy farmer, according to Casey’s staff.

The bills ensure that dairy farmers can get full price for their costs of production for their milk.

“The current pricing system is the cause of the roller-coaster ride that prices have taken in recent years,” said Arden Tewksbury of ProAG. “These roller coaster rides are not in the best interest of consumers and they are extremely painful to the average dairy farmer.”

The NDPR Bill, which is offered by the PA Department of Agriculture, would provide a major overhaul of the present pricing system that establishes minimum prices for milk, Casey’s staff said. It would create an insurance program for dairy farms, similar to the crop insurance programs provided for other farm types. A loan program would be established to help young farmers get started.

“The beauty of Senate Bill 1722’s plan is that there would be no direct cost to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” Tewksbury said.

“Rapidly increasing energy costs and feed costs are driving dairy farmers to the brink,” Casey said. “These bills will help make sure that dairy farmers don’t lose money and are able to keep their farms.”

“I am pleased to work with Senator Casey to establish a more stable and fair dairy pricing system,” Specter said. “These two bills will address the increasing costs of milk production and help to protect our dairy producers’ crucial industry.”

Local comments

from two dairymen

Local dairy farmers are not convinced that the bills will be what are needed to bolster the industry.

“Why two bills?” South Canaan, PA dairyman Joe Davitt asked. “I don’t understand the reason. I’m not opposed to an insurance policy to help dairymen avoid disaster in a business downturn (one of the provisions of the second bill). When the price of milk that we receive goes below $16 a hundred weight, the insurance policy should be set at the cost of production and I don’t see that it is in this bill.”

“There are two bills because they are complementary to each other,” said Kendra Barkoff, press representative for Senator Casey. “Senate 1722 is like a quick fix, while Senate 1721 is a longer term solution.”

“The Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act, if passed, would provide a solid pricing system that would allow dairy farmers to be profitable,” said Milanville, PA dairyman Brian Smith. “It would keep farm land active without government subsidies.”

Smith said that if the FMMIA was adopted, there would be no need for the second bill.

The bills must go before the agriculture committee of the U.S. House of Representatives before it goes to the Senate, Davitt said.

“I’m afraid that it will be chopped up. They may not take the whole bill,” he said. “We’ll have to wait until the end of August before we know anything. Meantime, many of us are sinking.”

Veteran veterinarian says problem is more serious

“In all my 35 years as a vet in the area, I have never seen things harder on the dairy farmers,” said veterinarian Henry Nebzydoski.

He knows of eight farms that have closed this spring. Attempts to reach any of these farmers were unsuccessful.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 1996 there were 205 dairy farms in Wayne County. By 2005, that number had dropped to 120.

Nebzydoski said one consequence of the dwindling number of dairy farms in the United States is it may become necessary to import milk from other countries. “How are we going to know the quality of the milk?” he asked.

The dairy bills in Congress are not addressing this problem, he said. “I’m not sure we’re going to be able to stop the farm closings.”