This commentary is by Jackie Folsom, legislative director for the Vermont Farm Bureau. She and her husband retired after 32 years as operators of Crooked Brooks Dairy in Cabot. She was appointed to the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team by then-Gov. Douglas and the Task Force to Revitalize the Vermont Dairy Industry by House Speaker Jill Krowinski.
It’s always an interesting concept to think outside the box when attempting to solve an issue, but solutions should also utilize facts to reach a conclusion. Here’s the rest of the story.
State Auditor Doug Hoffer’s report — cited in a commentary by Tom Evslin and indicating $285 million has been spent on the dairy industry since 2010 — includes a figure specific to 2019: $35 million, the bulk of which was spent on grants and technical assistance for farms working to lower phosphorus in the watersheds (as required by the federal government).
The money was also used for conservation and taxation efforts encouraged by the state Legislature to keep land in farming and forestry. Regardless of how many dairies remain in business, these two programs have allowed all types of farms to manage regulatory issues and profitability.
Vermont has also invested in other (non-ag) local businesses through the efforts of the tax increment financing program, as well as the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive, so it’s not uncommon for the state to spend money on supporting businesses important to the economy.
There has been an issue of oversupply of fluid milk and many organizations have worked nationally to develop a program to manage the milk supply. Ironically, Covid-19 has disrupted the supply chain in dairy, causing major dairy cooperatives to implement their own milk management programs, both conventional and organic. That, in turn, has removed fluid milk from the pipeline and caused significant challenges to processing plants.
The dairy industry has taken on agricultural runoff damage to the lakes and waters of this state. No other industry has stepped up to mitigate immediate and future damages, including investments in new crop techniques, manure management equipment and buffers. There have been payments to assist with these efforts — as there have been to municipalities for their abuses to the state waters.
The dollars spent on these improvements were approved by the state Legislature and often leverage federal funding to accomplish these important tasks.
Unfortunately, a new technology in the last century included adding tremendous amounts of phosphorus onto fields. Based on research and promoted through land grants and the federal government, farmers believed they were doing the right thing — and the consequences, as we know now, have been the legacy phosphorus that sits in our lakes and ponds.
That’s why farms of all types and sizes work closely with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets to monitor and manage what goes on the land to control runoff.
Workforce development is a challenge on dairy farms. The Vermont Farm Bureau has been working with our congressional delegation for over 20 years to make changes in the current laws prohibiting dairy farms from participating in any federal programs. The proposed changes could make the dairy workforce legal to be in the United States, but this is not a state issue.
The majority of farms using immigrant labor pay $15 to $20 per hour while also providing free housing, milk, meat and transportation offsite. This is not exploitation, but an honest attempt to find reliable labor in jobs that most Americans would not consider doing.
The thought that we should only have enough farms to supply milk to Cabot and Ben & Jerry’s is questionable. There are over 50 artisanal cheesemakers in Vermont, not to mention Commonwealth, Hood/Booth and Monument Farms (among others) using milk from our farms. That’s an amazing number of new opportunities for farms. Some of the farms supplying milk to Vermont’s two largest processors are also making their own dairy products. They are finding solutions.
To suggest that failing dairy farms “should be converted to a combination of forest land and housing” is hard to fathom. Many of these farms are conserved, with no ability to allow development for housing or industry. Trees don’t grow overnight; it would take between seven to 10 years for Christmas trees to mature. Trees for timber harvesting would take longer. And dairy farmers are already working with a variety of resources to develop payment for ecoservices or carbon credits on cropland, which does sequester carbon.
Failing dairy farms are in the eye of the beholder. Manure piles do not have old tires on top (those are bunker silos for feed) and tumbledown barns are not working dairy barns. Today’s dairy farmers are innovative, problem-solving businessmen and women who live on the land they work and are determined to leave that land better than they found it.
The state of Vermont has invested millions of dollars in helping them, since they have very little control over the pricing mechanism they receive for the milk produced and they are buffeted by the same increase for costs of inputs that all businesses are — gas, electricity, taxes, equipment. And yes, some of them are going out of business. But that is not due to failure — it is an economic decision based on many factors.
Let’s recognize them for all they do to provide a wholesome product that has defined Vermont for years — and while thinking outside the box is a great exercise, perhaps a visit with a dairy farmer will provide much-needed input as to what they really need to succeed.
