More than 50 family farmer, labor, and consumer organizations urged federal agriculture policymakers to take immediate steps to help US dairy farmers, who have struggled for years with milk prices that are well below their costs of production.
Addressing America’s Dairy Crisis
NFFC today sent this letter to Congressional and USDA agriculture leadership urging immediate action on the dairy crisis.
Rural Farmer, Community Orgs Alarmed by D.C. Announcements
We would like the 2018 farm bill to reach and support everyone, but evidence so far suggests a callous and divisive intent.
Retailers Want to Own Farmers – CAFOs Fill the Bill
But having the blessing of UDSA, CAFO’s continue to grow to the point that “About half of the organic milk sold in the U.S. is coming from very large factory farms that have no intention of living up to organic principles.” according to Mark Kastel, co-director of the nonprofit Cornucopia Institute.
In Organic Farming, Rules Are Not Made to be Broken
No organic farmer will deny there are times when animals get sick, it is too wet to cultivate or it gets so dry you have to buy feed and you remember your past life as a conventional farmer, when there was a synthetic fix for the problem or feed that was an easy phone call away. But no one ever said farming would be easy; you just figure it out, learn from the problem and plan ahead.
Letter to USTR in Response to Query
The lack of supply management and other skewed policies are destroying US dairy farmers.
NFFC & Rural Coalition Outline NAFTA Concerns to USTR
NAFTA should be replaced with an agreement that encourages and ensures environmental sustainability, economic viability and longevity for the people growing and harvesting our food, as well as their communities, in all three NAFTA countries.
Pro Ag Holds Press Conference in Tunkhannock
At a press conference held at the Perkins Restaurant in Tunkhannock, Arden Tewksbury, Manager of Progressive Agriculture Organization (Pro-Ag) announced that several farm organizations, milk cooperatives, and county commissioners have petitioned the USDA in Washington DC asking for a national milk hearing for all dairy farmers. The petition clearly asks the Department of Agriculture to conduct milk hearings that would allow the average dairy farmer to testify and illustrate the severity of the problems that the majority of dairy farmers are experiencing.
We Are A Nation Of Immigrants – Always Have Been
In a society like ours, where there is no such thing as a living wage for a good share of the population, we depend on a cheap food supply. It is unconscionable that we have such income disparity, that we have allowed this cycle of poverty to exist.
NAFTA Needs To Be Replaced, Not Renegotiated
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) must be replaced with a transparent trade agreement that ensures farmers in all three nations—Canada, Mexico, and the United States—receive fair prices for their production, that consumers are guaranteed the right to know the content and origin of their food, and that strong environmental protections are put in place to protect the sustainability of rural communities.
Dairy Farmers’ Concerns Not Addressed at House Ag Hearing
When I learned late last week that the United State House Agriculture Committee was having a hearing on March 22, I immediately made contact with members of the committee regarding the possibility of me testifying at the hearing.
De-pooling Dairy Farmers Is Not the Answer
These 900 dairy farmers deserve a chance to stay in business until a real solution is developed. Contact the Market Administrator’s office by phone in Albany at 518-452-4410, or in Boston at 617-737-7199.