The Solution
posted 9/26.2010
We are all victims in this dairy crisis of human devastation due to the
failures and injustice of systems, and actions, or lack of them, and the conduct
of greed and sepsis of corruption that sickens and destroys not only the
innocent, but also the very ones who wield it for power and profit. No one wins
.. . . our pasts that were once futures have proven this.
My name is LoriJayne M. Grahn, a Minnesota dairy farmer and consumer. In
2008, we got $10.60 per hundredweight for our Grade A quality milk, and were
forced out of business and into debt with losses we should never have
experienced working 24/7 days a week performing with quality standards. But our
paychecks were out of our control and unfairly being controlled. It's 2010 now
and with 2011 nearing the status of farmers is the same. Cost of production was
$20 then and is even more now. Anything less then cost of production is a spiral
fall downward into debt and losses not only for the dairy farmers and their
families, but for consumers, the taxpayers, and our economy, etc. It becomes a
domino effect reaching everyone and affecting many issues of concern. It only
worsens and continues into a critical status. There is no band aid that can fix
a severed artery. You need to fix the problem immediately and solve it for a
full recovery, instead of rendering halfway attempts that are insufficient to
stop the bleeding. Negligence threatens any sustainment of well-being and in
some cases is a crime. The crime in the dairy industry is inexcusable as it
affects the countless lives and well-being of farmers and consumers, and the
quality and sovereignty of our nation's food supply.
We are all victims in this matter and now must all be responsible to
change it. The division and lack of support and effort to pass a solution now,
not later, is in my opinion negligent as are the band aid proposals that fail to
stop the bleeding and sepsis of corruption. There is a solution aimed at a full
recovery prognosis and that is Senate Dairy Bill S1645 The
Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act of 2009. Dairy Bill S1645 is a
solution in giving all farmers a cost of production, has a supply management
program if needed, addresses imports and exports including Milk Protein
Concentrates (MPC's) and Caseins, and does not cost the taxpayer a dime, nor add
to our government spending or trillion dollar budget deficit. Those are needed
solutions! The Dairy Bill S1645 can be implemented upon being passed immediately
as stand alone legislation without the 2012 Farm Bill.
The other proposals or bills fall short in solving the apparent problem
of rendering a needed cost of production to all dairy farmers. In any business
or job you need to cover your costs of operating or you can't continue long. In
my opinion, to stabilize milk prices from drastic fluctuations but never fully
address the causes, nor give the farmer a cost of production thus remaining or
going further into debt is not a
solution. An insurance program where a farmer has to pay yet another expense to
get insurance coverage that still won't cover his losses anyway when the margin
of milk prices, which is already below cost of production, reaches a greater
margin of loss is nothing but a loss
in many ways. To adjust the margin of water, or stabilize the fluctuation of its
depth that we are all drowning in and never letting our heads get above water is
in my opinion negligence and not
a solution. There is no
maliciousness intended on my part or to be uncooperative. But as I have said
before, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
We need our heads above water to survive and no less. Dairy Bill S1645 is
a life preserver and solution to sustain the well-being of our dairy farmers,
consumers, the industry, and the integrity and sovereignty of our food supply.
We need unified support from everyone, farmers, consumers, organizations,
Congress, etc. to pass Dairy Bill S1645 now that we may all continue to operate
and move all of us in a positive direction for our future. We don't need more
band aid proposals, or new organizations claiming the farmer's voice, or to
waste anymore time waiting for the 2012 Farm Bill that holds no promises or
guarantees of anything. Thus, the solution is a cost of production for all
farmers, import and export regulations including MPC's and Caseins, supply
management if needed, no burden to taxpayers or our nation's debt. We just need
all of us here and now to support the
solution, pass the solution, and
give the solution of Dairy
Bill S1645 a chance to start working and sustaining the well-being of us
all.