New York Farm Bureau added its voice to calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to revamp the nation’s milk pricing system for the long term.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Farm Bureaus from New York and 12 other states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic asked for changes that might prevent the wide price swings that have agonized farmers and dairy plant operators for several years and have caused the federal government to step in to aid farmers every few years.
“A systemic review and perhaps ultimate overhaul of the milk marketing order system should be undertaken in an effort to avoid these periodic downturns where dairy farmers are forced to seek government assistance simply to survive,” the groups’ leaders wrote.
In their letter, they urged the department to “ensure regional production of fluid milk,” a reference to two issues — where milk is produced, and what it is used for — that underlie one of the biggest challenges to changing a system in place since the 1930s.
They said that the system now in place, although intended to fairly distribute perishable milk around the country for beverage use, tends to penalize areas with higher costs of production that are closer to big-city markets. Upstate New York is one such area.
The system also does not always recognize regional production needs, the Farm Bureau leaders wrote.
The dairy industry has a $50 billion economic impact in the Northeast annually, New York Farm Bureau said in a press release.