The milk surplus would probably disappear if Kraft stopped importing it. Pegi > Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 12:29:14 -0400 > To: [email protected] > From: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] fw: Organic Dairies Watch the Good Times > Turn Bad > > The milk surplus would probably disappear if producers stopped feeding > grain, something they could easily do in the summer grazing period. > > Joel > > At 09:36 AM 5/29/09 -0400, you wrote: > >The New York Times > >May 29, 2009 > >Organic Dairies Watch the Good Times Turn Bad > >By KATIE ZEZIMA > > > >RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt. -- When Ken Preston went organic on his dairy > >farm here in 2005, he figured that doing so would guarantee him > >what had long been elusive: a stable, high price for the milk from > >his cows. > > > >Sure enough, his income soared 20 percent, and he could finally > >afford a Chevy Silverado pickup to help out. The dairy > >conglomerate that distributed his milk wanted everything > >Mr. Preston could supply. Supermarket orders were skyrocketing. > > > >But soon the price of organic feed shot up. Then the recession > >hit, and families looking to save on groceries found organic milk > >easy to do without. Ultimately the conglomerate, with a glut of > >product, said it would not renew his contract next month, leaving > >him with nowhere to sell his milk, a victim of trends that are > >crippling many organic dairy farmers from coast to coast. > > > >For those farmers, the promises of going organic -- a steady > >paycheck and salvation for small family farms -- have collapsed in > >the last six months. As the trend toward organic food consumption > >slows after years of explosive growth, no sector is in direr shape > >than the $1.3 billion organic milk industry. Farmers nationwide > >have been told to cut milk production by as much as 20 percent, > >and many are talking of shutting down. > > > >"I probably wouldn't have gone organic if I knew it would end this > >way," said Mr. Preston, 53. > > > >Here in New England, where dairy farms are as much a part of the > >landscape as whitewashed churches and rocky beaches, organic dairy > >farmers are bearing the brunt of the nationwide slowdown, in part > >because of the cost of transporting feed from the Midwest. The > >contracts of 10 of Maine's 65 organic dairies will not be renewed > >by HP Hood, one of the region's three large processors. In > >Vermont, 32 dairy farms have closed since Dec. 1, significantly > >altering the face of New England's dairy industry. > > > >"We expect to lose a lot more farms this year," said Roger Allbee, > >Vermont's secretary of agriculture. > > > >Hood and the two other big processors, Horizon Organic and Organic > >Valley, say cutting contracts, pay and production are necessary to > >absorb overproduction and offset softening demand. Organic Valley, > >a nationwide cooperative, told Maine organic dairy farmers last > >month that its sales growth had dropped to near zero from about 20 > >percent six months ago. > > > >"Our inventory is overstocked," said John B. Cleary, the > >cooperative's New England regional pool coordinator. > > > >For many farmers, the changes coincide with crushing debt > >resulting from the cost of turning organic, which can run hundreds > >of thousands of dollars. In addition, the price of organic feed > >has doubled in the last year. Credit has dried up for some, and > >others say it is nearly impossible to sell cows and so thin their > >herds. > > > >And while processors project growth of about 6 percent in organic > >milk sales this year (a decline from the 12.7 percent reported for > >2008 by the Organic Trade Association), some analysts say that > >forecast is far too optimistic. The United States Department of > >Agriculture says sales of organic whole milk in February were 2.5 > >percent lower than in February last year, with sales of organic > >reduced-fat milk 15 percent lower. > > > >"We're in big trouble," said Craig Russell, an organic dairy > >farmer in Brookfield, Vt., who owes $500,000, mostly from > >converting his farm to organic in 2006. > > > >Mr. Russell quit a day job as an accountant to farm full time last > >year. "I made more money in six months than in five years of > >conventional farming," he said, but his farm is now barely hanging > >on. The price he receives from the distributor dropped another $1 > >per hundredweight on May 1, just when he most needed money to > >prepare for the summer grazing season. > > > >"It's going to cost me more to make milk than sell milk," he said. > > > >In an effort to provide a safety net, Vermont last month expanded > >a low-interest loan program for farmers. > > > >While most conventional farmers are accustomed to withstanding > >price volatility, "organic hasn't weathered this kind of storm," > >said Mr. Allbee, the state's agriculture secretary. Farmers are > >finding that organic food is not for every consumer, he said, "and > >doesn't guarantee that you will have a market forever." > > > >Some farmers are considering selling their organic milk on the > >conventional market just to make some quick money. Others are > >looking to sell raw, or unpasteurized, milk directly to the > >public. The Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill this > >month to increase the amount of raw milk a farmer can sell that > >way. > > > >At the annual meeting of the Maine Organic Milk Producers last > >month in Waterville, farmers debated whether they could tap into > >the locavore movement, marketing their milk as local food. Russell > >Libby, the organization's executive director, wondered, "Is it > >possible to produce a product with a Maine label on it?" > > > >Right now it is not, because some Maine milk is processed out of > >state. But farmers like Aaron Bell, whose contract with Hood will > >not be renewed when it expires, thinks the idea will save their > >farms. > > > >"We're so remote, we're high and dry otherwise," said Mr. Bell, > >whose farm is in Maine's easternmost reaches. "Unless we find our > >own market." > > > >Back in 2006, Mr. Bell carried the banner for organic dairy > >farming, appearing with his wife on Martha Stewart's show to > >promote small family farms. He still believes in organic food, but > >not so much in the business model. > > > >"They say it's heaven for the small farmer," he said, "but the > >small farmer is the one screaming the loudest right now." > > > >Bruce Drinkman, who milks 60 cows on his organic farm in Glenwood > >City, Wis., has seen his income drop 40 percent since Jan. 1. To > >keep the farm going, he has dipped into his retirement savings and > >dropped his health insurance. But without a loan, his wife has had > >to draw money from her I.R.A. to help out. > > > >"Our Plan B is if we don't have a decent year, we're done," said > >Mr. Drinkman, who has farmed for 30 years. > > > >"I'm 46," he said. "I wonder what I will do if I can't farm > >anymore." > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, > >please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > > >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > >[email protected] > >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > >Questions about the list? ask [email protected] > >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > Questions about the list? ask [email protected] > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
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