Local Dairies, Regional Solutions
by Cait Johnson

     Even the peaceful, bucolic farmlands of upstate New York are feeling the repercussions of September 11. With more on their minds than the fate of regional dairy farmers, Congress has so far failed to reinstate the expired Northeast Dairy Compact that helps to keep many local dairy farms afloat.
     As Barry Chase, owner of Chaseholm Farms, says "The compact keeps me in business. I have to be the last dairy farm in Pine Plains and it used to be a farming community." There are about 7500 dairy farms in New York State, but they are declining at a rate of around 4% a year. This isn't only a bad thing for the dairy farmers, says Ronny of Ronnybrook Farms in Ancramdale. "Dairy farmers put a lot of money back into the local economy," he says, "so keeping farms going is good for the area economically. Environmentally, too-most people would rather see a dairy farm than another strip mall."
     Bernard Sanders, Independent Representative from Vermont, has proposed a National Compact that would basically set the same floor price for milk nationwide, but many New York farmers see this as a sop to Wisconsin and other Midwestern states opposed to a regional plan. As Barry Chase says, "It's very frustrating to dairy farm in the Northeast. The government has decided Wisconsin is the place to support."
     But why not a national compact? Do we need regional price guarantees? Jim Davenport of Tollgate Holsteins in Columbia County explains: "It costs more to run a dairy farm here in the Northeast than it does in other regions. We have higher taxes, the land is more expensive, and our winters mean higher fuel and building needs. Also services are more expensive-electricians, builders, and plumbers all cost more. Folks in the Midwest don't like it that we get higher prices for our milk, but their land is cheaper and the taxes are lower. And they wouldn't mind if our farms go belly-up. There'd be more profits in it for them."
     Even though New York was not a member of the Northeast Compact that expired on September 30, many of our farms still benefited from it. "About 90% of the milk we produce in Northern Dutchess and Columbia Counties goes to compact-member states north of here," says Davenport. "All of the money I made from compact pricing went straight into paying the bills. It sure beats going to the bank for a loan just to keep going."
     "The only people who don't like the Northeast Compact are the processors," says Barry Chase, "because they stand to lose windfall profits. The processors don't care where the milk comes from." I spoke with Bruce Krupke of New York State Dairy Foods, Inc, who represents milk processors and manufacturers. He believes the compact "distorts the law of supply and demand" and thinks that having a guaranteed minimum price for milk "lowers motivation and reduces efficiency" among local farmers.
     The farmers I spoke with sounded plenty motivated, even passionate about what they do. As Ronny from Ronnybrook Farms says, "You have to love dairy farming because it sure isn't a lucrative business." Ronnybrook Farms only sells its milk in New York state, so it is not really affected by the Northeast Compact. Still, Ronny is strongly in favor of its renewal. "The compact isn't a handout, " he says. "It's trying to keep local farmers competitive with farmers in other, less expensive areas."
     While Kent Johnson with Heinchon Dairy in Pawling, disagrees, saying "I've never been an advocate of putting false floors under things," the other people I spoke to were all in favor of a regional compact. Even most local consumers seem to agree that they would be happy to pay an extra nickel or two for fresh, locally-produced and locally-inspected milk, rather than something trucked in from the Midwest where the standards may be different. And for those of us who prefer to keep Hudson Valley open spaces intact, support for our dairy farms is a key to maintaining the rural beauty of our region.
     But what about the impact of higher milk prices on the very poor? Steve Hancock, the Columbia County dairy agent from the Cornell Cooperative Extension, explains that some of the money from compact pricing goes into an escrow account related to food stamps. And Barry Chase points out that there are consumers and representatives from the food support program WIC on the Compact Commission, not just dairy farmers. "It's quite democratic," he observes.
     New York and Pennsylvania hope to join the six New England states that formed the previous Northeast Compact. In order to be helpful, though, the new plan will need to be in place soon: milk prices are expected to plummet this winter. At a recent brunch held locally, Hillary Rodham Clinton mentioned the Northeast Dairy Compact as one of the three issues to which she is most strongly committed, but the fate of the compact is by no means certain. Meanwhile, we can support our regional dairy farms by buying their products. It has always made sense to buy locally. Now maybe more than ever.