After attending the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. last week, I’m well aware of the struggles dairy producers are facing in this poor economy. The milk truck keeps coming, but the check keeps getting smaller. Sound familiar? Well, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer wants to help with falling prices.

Schumer said USDA should increase its purchases of milk powder through the Commodity Credit Corporation, restore payments to offset the cost of packaging milk, and restore a program to promote dairy exports, which would tighten the domestic market. What do you think about all of that? Would that really alleviate your challenges in dairy production?

In a letter to Secretary Vilsack, Senator Schumer writes, “Since last summer our domestic dairy industry has been grappling with a serious imbalance which threatens the stability and future of American dairy farmers. Falling domestic prices combined with relatively high input costs have put an extraordinary strain on the entire dairy sector. The global economic crisis has further exacerbated these challenges by reducing international demand which, in turn, diminishes the price our dairy farmers receive for their milk.”