Twenty-five years ago, there were nearly 700 dairy farms in Maine.

Now, there are just 145.

The cost to run a dairy farm keeps going up, but the price they’re paid for milk does not.

Since the pandemic, Maine has lost one-third of its dairy farms. A new task force will be looking for ways to help dairy farms and keep them viable in the future.

“Our costs of production are through the roof,” Maine Organic Milk Producers President Andy Smith said.

Smith says the struggles Maine dairy farmers face have nothing to do with the demand for dairy products, which he says is at an all-time high.

It has to do with prices farmers are paid for their milk remaining flat.

“The price that farmers are paid for their milk has not risen whatsoever,” Smith said. “And we’ve had really high rates of inflation in the last four or five years.”

The president of the Maine Dairy Industry Association says the task force will do a deep dive into the struggles facing Maine dairy farms, then try to find solutions.

“There’s really no one-size-fits-all fix,” Maine Dairy Industry Association President Annie Watson said. “But at the same time, a lot of our challenges are all the same.”

Watson testified before the state agriculture, conservation and forestry committee, which unanimously recommended a 25 percent increase to the state’s dairy stabilization prices.

Dairy farmers say they got word Wednesday legislative leadership may not support that bill.

“And it’s really disappointing that I just learned that leadership over in Augusta is frankly stabbing us in the back,” Smith said.

“At this point, it’s not confirmed,” Watson said. “They haven’t voted them down.”

Watson says the governor supports the 25 percent increase for dairy farmers.

“We’ve got really wonderful support from the governor. She actually put the increase into her change package,” Watson said. “And so we are hopeful that leadership will recognize the importance of this industry.”

She’s also optimistic the task force will find ways to help, but Smith says dairy farmers need help now, not another task force.

“We’re going to continue to lose farms at a pretty fast pace,” Smith said.

The task force being formed right now is expected to come up with a list of ways to help dairy farms by January 1.

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