posted 4/27/10
Dear Editor;
I am sure you are well aware of the Dairy Crisis by now, as it has been almost 2 years that farmers are in dire need of a change for the way milk is priced. Here it is now time to put crops in for the 2010 year and farmers are not receiving credit to purchase seed never mind being able to fertilize the crops, or harvest it because fuel cost are already on the rise. It seems really strange how the milk prices to the farmer go down and the cost to produce it goes up but know one can really seem to grasp how to fix this. COULD COST OF PRODUCTION BE A CLUE? Farmers have used all of their savings barley being able to repair never mind replacing equipment because of the low prices. They have tightened their belt so much that they no have no belts. Many have not been able to pay their taxes, which in turn is now hurting the counties and ultimately the state. When the farmer are forced to close those barn door unlike most business which are not on the same properties as their home, the farmer looses his home also. When you hear grown men who have farmed all their lives tell there stories with tears rolling down there faces of how they are going to have to give up and loose everything they have worked so hard for, it really makes it hard to believe this is AMERICA THAT WERE LIVING IN!!!
We need IMMEDIATE ACTION taken to raise the price of milk. The support price needs to be no less than $17.00 per cwt and a floor price under manufactured milk needs to be no less than $18.00 per cwt. How does our government think that farmers can keep producing milk and receive $10.00 to $12.00 per cwt less than the cost of making the product?
There is only one long term answer that is the THE FEDERAL MILK MARKETING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009 ( S1645) the Specter-Casey bill. What are people thinking this bill is the only one that will work. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that Cost of Production without Supply Management will never work, also you have to keep your import and exports in line with each other. This is elementary school people. WHY IS OUR GOVERNMENT AND THE COOPS SO AFRAID OF THIS BILL?????? Now they are telling us we are going to be made to buy insurance for when prices are low. This insurance is going to be very costly and when the farmer can’t pay for what he needs now how in the world will he ever pay for this?? Just another way to make the farmer fail. Come on people this is not go to help anything at all WAKE UP.
The farmers need to receive a fair price for his milk at or above the cost of production this would mean the processors and handlers would have to give up some of their market share and there should be no real significant increase to the consumers considering the record profits that most handlers have recently posted along with the high salaries of the upper management.
Farmers have been the back bone of this nation from the start we now have a broken back and look at the shape our country is in. It is time for everyone to pull their heads out of the sand and realize just like our men and women fighting for our freedom we are trying to protect Americans by giving them safe quality food made in the good old USA were we know what is in our Milk when it leaves our farms. WE DEMAND A HEARING FOR THE FEDERAL MILK MARKETING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009. THEY KEEP STIFLING THIS VOICE COULD IT BE THEY KNOW THIS ONE WILL WORK AND HELP THE FARMER SO THIS IS WHY IT IS NOT GETTING FAIR TIME LIKE THE OTHER PROPOSALS. WE NEED TO BE HEARD. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to call or email Dave & Robin Fitch
West Winfield, NY
315-822-5093
Thank you
Dave and Robin Fitch