This commentary is by Gemma Del Rossi, of Burlington, who is a recent graduate of University of Vermont, where she doubled-majored in Community & International Development and Environmental Studies.
[T]he Vermont dairy system is broken. It has been for a long time. Small-scale Vermont farmers trying to compete with “big ag” in the Midwest have flooded the market with milk and driven down prices to the point where many are struggling to stay afloat. This downward spiral has led to 170 million pounds of milk being dumped in the Northeast in 2017 alone, according to VPR. If this continues, in 50 years Vermont may no longer have small farms dotting our iconic landscape.
There is, however, a way out. There exists a potential solution which not only allows small-scale dairy farmers to thrive and reduce the current milk surplus, but also reduce the ecological footprint of animal agriculture. It’s called management intensive grazing, also known as MIG or rotational grazing for short. MIG is an intensive, pasture-based system in which dairy cattle are moved frequently around grazing paddocks, giving the pasture forage a chance to recover and regrow before being grazed again. By providing financial incentives to dairy farmers to switch to this system, MIG creates a win-win-win solution and removes them from the overproduction treadmill the current dairy market is on.
There are several ways to finance and encourage the transition to MIG dairy farming. The state or federal government could provide subsidized credit or loans for transitioning to MIG. Local, state, and federal funding (via grants, etc.) could be put towards University of Vermont’s extension services to provide information, technology, and aid for farmers planning to switch to MIG. Another option would be to shift governmental subsidies away products with low financial returns towards profitable, environmentally friendly practices such MIG. Finally, financial incentives for MIG could be funded through the effort to clean up Lake Champlain by implementing property fees or increasing certain taxes.
The environmental benefits from farms switching to a MIG system have been well documented. Conventional agricultural practices are among the largest threats to our environment by contributing to global climate change, biodiversity loss, and nutrient pollution. MIG has been shown to reduce CO2 emissions by sequestering carbon, reduce nutrient runoff into waterways, and improve both soil and water quality. If Vermont dairy farmers switch to MIG, there is potential to improve the ongoing water quality and phosphorus management issues in Lake Champlain.
In addition to environmental benefits, MIG can help farmers economically. Studies show that MIG drastically decreases off-farm inputs such as fertilizer and feed, reducing farmers’ costs and giving them a wider profit margin. Further, if milk prices remain unsustainably low, by providing farmers financial incentives to switch to MIG, it is in their best interest to switch management systems because they could earn a greater profit than producing milk alone. Providing a financial incentive guarantees dairy farmers a revenue stream when the price of milk is low and removes them from the competitive overproduction treadmill, where producing more milk is the only strategy to stay in business.
Transitioning dairy towards MIG can be a long-term fix to the oversupply of milk we are currently experiencing. As MIG can reduce milk production per cow, the total supply of fluid milk can be reduced if enough farms participate. A financial incentive could help compensate farmers for any losses in milk production in addition to transitioning to MIG, meaning farmers no longer face pressure to flood the market with milk to meet the bottom economic line. In reducing the supply of milk on the market, the price dairy farmers receive for milk will rise.
Some may ask why farmers should be expected to change their way of life by switching farming systems? It can be difficult to get longtime established businesses of any kind to change the way they have “always done things,” especially for multi-generational dairy farmers. Given the current economic landscape and looming environmental threats, however, Vermont’s dairy farmers will face a lifestyle change one way or another. They can leave the dairy industry and culture behind, or they can adapt to a new, resilient farming system.
This dairy production system is a potential solution for small-scale Vermont farms to remain economically viable. It still gives farmers the flexibility and freedom to produce milk without a government-set quota or supply management. MIG has the potential to reduce dairy farming’s environmental footprint and increase farm income, especially if financial incentives allow farmers to be compensated for switching management systems. This solution allows Vermont farmers to remain competitive in the dairy market and break the downward spiral of overproduction of milk. Moving forwards, the only way for Vermont farmers to survive is to adapt a new system such as MIG – one that will keep the culture of Vermont dairy farming intact for generations to come.
