This milk surplus will hurt Vermont dairy farmers and we should expect requests for state government assistance...again. This time there'll be no money to help them. It's a sad but true reality that Vermont dairy cannot hope to compete with California, Wisconsin and other large dairy states. We are simply too small to compete in any bulk dairy product. Our targets should be expanding specialty dairy including artisan cheeses, and of course, premium ice cream.
We'll soon hear about Vermont farmers under pressure to reduce their herds or sell their farms. Predictably, conservationists will see this as another opportunity to purchase development rights, thus taking even more land out of the state's tax base.
We need some fresh thinking about Vermont's economic health.
"“People don’t want to panic,” said Brian W. Gould, an agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin, adding that farmers were receiving $20 for 100 pounds of raw milk just a few months ago. The price is expected to drop to about $14 for 100 pounds of raw milk in coming months. “It is unclear as to whether this will be a short-term or long-term market correction. It all depends on how long it takes the U.S. economy to recover,” he said."
No comments:
Post a Comment