When I first took office in 1987, there were approximately 800 dairy farms in Massachusetts supplying all of the milk demand in the state. Today there are about 165 farms left and they produce about 6-7% of demand. Milk pricing is one of the most regulated industries in America. At a time when we are witnessing huge price increases in the cost of milk at the store, the payment to dairy farmers in dropping almost as fast. As the price goes down, the cost of production has gone up as farmers are struggling with higher costs. We have seen the price of fuel increase dramatically and the cost of feed has gone through the roof as corn is used for ethanol as opposed to feedstock. This is particularly frustrating as corn is not a good fuel stock. So while 25% of the corn crops are diverted from feed to fuel, it is less than 1% of our fuel supply.
Last year, the Legislature passed a bill to establish a commission on dairy farms. The administration, Legislature, and industry issued a report earlier this year that recommended a series of reforms and changes that would benefit the industry. I understand that the Senate is taking this up soon and I hope that the House follows soon thereafter in order to stabilize this industry. It is essential that we keep some milk production in state as this shores up the regional industry as well as give us a fresh milk supply. It also saves thousands of acres of open space and water recharge areas. Not only that, but it preserves an historic industry and a way of life in many small towns.
The picture attached is one that I took on a small farm in Hawley (pop. 336). I call it "Hide and Go Moo".
8 comments:
Dan.....After reading the report and doing a little net surfing on the issue, the only real viable solution I saw, was their recommendation that you legislators help open up new off shore markets. All the other options are just temporary band-aid quick fixes that don't address the heart of the problem. The farmer has to make a profit or he is forced to close down.
Corn makes a lousy feed stock as well, cows stomachs were designed to digest grass. Not to mention the huge amounts of petroleum base fertilizer that is used because of the lack of crop rotation.
Part of the solution is diversity, getting rid of the single product farm, whatever that product may be. Producing healthier, local products that can compete with the industrialized crap they call food.
Greater crop and grazing rotation so that all that fertilizer isn't needed. Producing energy from the farm's waste stream.
One of your constituents is quite the expert on the subject of small niche dairy farms. If you haven't met Amy Jeschawitz out at Cricket Creek Farm, I think you should. She is the reviving force on the Williamstown Agricultural Commission.
Swing by on Monday afternoon and you can witness the 4H kids get dragged around the fields by their calves. Or you can just buy some milk and bread.
Jack, You are right about that. The federal government has disconnected the price of milk from the price of production. We hope to keep our farms alive through the tax credit and other programs in the bill until such time as we can change federal policy. There are two things we are trying to do with this bill. First we are trying to find ways to lower costs to the farmer, and then we are trying to find ways to increase the amount of money to the dairy farms.
CJ, the problem with diversifying is that a lot of dairy farmers are working more than a full time job now to keep the dairy farm going. It is hard to tell someone working 12-hour days that they need to find more to do. We are trying to find ways to increase their diversity without adding much more to their work schedule.
Working more than 12 hour days because of a job off the the farm?
No, I am talking about full time farmers.
By the way, you are right about energy from waste stream. The legislation includes new energy initiatives on farms, from windmills to methane digesters. Vermont has been successful in using methane digesters as a fuel and energy source.
Dan.....Check it out...
http://shuffleboil.com/2008/05/24/meanwhile-4/#respond
Hi Dan:
Middleboro recently purchased 12.2 acres on Thompson Street (where I live), and where the sole remaining operating dairy farm in Middleboro is located. The land was purchased with a conservation restriction, in part to ensure that this one stretch of rural Middleboro remains rural. I hope that the initiative you spoke of can help this one family-owned farm remain viable.
Fiferstone, also known as Mary in Middleboro
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