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Re: Farm Aid News & Views January 1997
>FARM AID NEWS & VIEWS
>January 1997
>Volume 5, Number 1
>__________________________________________
>Headlines:
>- FAMILY DAIRY FARMERS STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
>- DAIRY SHIFTING TO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST
>- THE NATIONAL CHEESE EXCHANGE DISTORTS MILK PRICES
>- AGRIBUSINESS FIRMS CONTROL CHEESE MARKET
>- FARM GROUPS CALL FOR USDA INTERVENTION
>- FAMILY FARMERS FORM NEW PRICING ASSOCIATION
>- THE NE INTERSTATE DAIRY COMPACT
>- FARMERS EXPLORE SUSTAINABLE DAIRY METHODS
>- LAND O'LAKES PROPOSES MERGER
>__________________________________________
>Farm Aid News is produced by the Institute for
>Agriculture and Trade Policy for Farm Aid. Editors
>Harry Smith and Kate Hoff. We encourage the
>reproduction of Farm Aid News & Views. Comments and
>suggestions welcome. Farm Aid (617) 354-2922. Fax:
>(617) 354-6992. Email: Farmaid1@aol.com. For more
>information on agricultural publications contact IATP,
>(612) 870-0453. Fax: (612) 870-4846.
>Email:farmaid1@aol.com
The lengthy cries which came with the above made no positive or helpful
suggestions to dairy farmers and their industry.
Much of the world knows about the plight of some US dairy farmers (going
out at 800/month). Similar things are happening in other countries (Japan
for one) which have followed the US mechanized, confinement (large cows
with short lives in battery operations), un-natural, subsidized system.
Battery dairy farming is un-sustainable, so why should it be subsidized by
100%.
The solution, as many dairy farmers in US are finding, is controlled
grazing, not how they did it in the 50s and up until the 80s.
The Stockman Grass Farmer and Hoards have written about grazing farmers
producing milk for $9.50/cwt.
The Amish and Mennonites are spreading while typical confinement US dairies
are dying.
If a corner store goes broke because a supermarket opens nearby, no one
worries. It is called progress, but many dairy farmers (they write to
Hoards almost every month), expect to be able to have a living from 50 cows
on 20 acres with mostly bought feed for ever.
If the dairy industry promoted like Coca-Cola does there'd be no surplus.
Coca-Cola is one organisation covering the world so all its promotion pays
- I've seen it advertised in Russia, but the dairy industry is fragmented,
so none want to promote to help the competition, so little gets done and
producers suffer.
People swarm into pill shops, but milk is not promoted for its minerals and
vitamins.
Does anyone have the analysis of milk. It should be published here and
everywhere.
Promoting flavored milk in New Zealand and in Australia increased sales
dramatically. Then they stopped, so sales dropped. Coca-Cola never stops.
Here it is all over every food shop and on every TV in summer.
Best wishes,
Vaughan Jones
(retired dairy & beef farmer, consultant)
Hamilton
New Zealand
jonesv@wave.co.nz