Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) the dairy farmer “self-help” program, will now continue through 2009. The program will remain at the assessment level of 10-cents per hundredweight.
In a unanimous vote, the committee overseeing the management of CWT endorsed a continuation of the program.
Created five years ago, at a time when farm-level prices were at 20 year lows, CWT used a variety of programs to strengthen and stabilize milk supplies, and improve the economic health of the U.S. dairy producer community. It is currently conducting its latest herd retirement to adjust the size of the U.S. cattle herd, as many dairy farmers suffer from dramatically higher costs of production.
CWT has produced a strong return on investment for its members, generating 75 cents per hundredweight just in 2007, according to an independent economic analysis. That analysis, by Dr. Scott Brown of the University of Missouri, also showed that the cumulative impact of the herd retirement and export assistance programs, has helped create an enduring positive effect on milk prices.