¡Join the fight!
We're not out of the woods on the country's current dairy crisis. Yes, the free fall in milk prices that pushed hundreds of farmers out of business last year seems to have stopped, and that's very good news. Via Syracuse.com:
Mexico, NY -- Mexico dairy farmers Gary and Jim Hurlbut were making $1.03 for each gallon of milk they produced this time last year.
This year, their take is up to about $1.30 a gallon.
"We need it," Gary said. "It’s still tight, though." Read more...
Shoppers who buy local and organic milk can rest assured that their buying habits do have a positive impact on local economies. But sometimes, positive isn't not enough.
"The dairy crisis has touched everyone in the industry," according to Steve Young-Burns, CEO of Pastureland Dairy Cooperative in Minnesota, "even organic dairy farmers. It's easy to think organic and local are economically secure, but not in this situation." Read more...
Thanks to Big Media's lack of coverage, you'd never know this country was going through one of its most serious farming crises in over a generation -- but we are. Read more...
In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, yesterday, four-hundred and fifty people showed up to offer 10 hours of testimony on state bills that would legalize the sale of raw milk in the Dairy State.
According to WSAU Radio in Wausau, "scientists, government officials, consumers, and farmers were among those testifying," and apparently the pros outnumbered the cons in the audience. The pro raw milk side was organized in large part by dairy farmer Vince Hundt, who bought a ton of paper hats for supporters of the legislation. Read more...
It's fashionable to smack Obama these days, and while I share the instinct of both my lefty and wingnut pals to shake their heads in confusion at Washington, I remain wowed by one aspect of this presidency: The Obama USDA. His appointment of Tom Vilsack continues to impress me and prove my initital fears wrong.
Two cool pieces of news, if you're a proponent of organic ag and small farming like I am. First, the USDA's National Organic Program announced that it was tightening up organic dairying rules in a way that fortifies pasturing at the expense of feedlot dairies (all eyes are now on the USDA and the obviously non-compliant Aurora Organic Dairy). Read more...
Let's check in with the US dairy crisis.
You really have to admire the ...ahem...nerve on Dean Foods, the largest dairy supplier in the US. Check out this progression of recent headlines:
After some record lows-- milk prices paid to farmers are starting to go up. Read more...
The US dairy crisis is the worst we've seen in several generations, and, as you might expect in a global economy, European dairy farmers are in exactly the same boat as American dairiers. A milk glut, a corporate-slanted subsidy system, and steady dissolution of government oversight have milk prices sinking to unsustainable lows: Prices across Europe have dropped by 40% well below the cost of production, according to the European Milk Board. Read more...
A national milk glut and nosediving milk prices have prompted federal lawmakers to help the US dairy industry weather this crisis, which Vermont's Sen. Patrick Leahy says is "of epic proportions." $350 million has been set aside by the federal government for struggling farmers. From the AP: Read more...
In mid-July, Maine organic dairy farmers called a boycott on Goliathan milk corporations H.P. Hood and Stonyfield Farm Organic Milk. Read more...
