Dairy farmers we spoke with say they hope the “Farming First” bill package, that was passed by the senate earlier this month, helps to sure up what’s become an industry surrounded by increasing uncertainty.
“I don’t think there’s any dairy farmer in Pennsylvania that hasn’t been affected by the low milk prices,” Frank Graybill, owner of Restful Acres Farm in Dauphin County, says.
If passed the “Farming First” bill package would create a tax credit program that would help young generations of farmers buy or lease land.
It would also create a commission that would help bring together all stakeholders in the dairy industry.
Plus, it would ease some regulations regarding building, transportation and farm-related tourism and entertainment.
There are other initiatives at the national level, like a bill in Congress that would give kids access to whole milk in school, that could give a boost to the U.S. dairy industry. There’s also the prospect of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada deal replacing NAFTA. Industry experts say the deal would open up Canadian and Mexican markets to U.S. agriculture and pump more than a quarter billion dollars a year into the U.S. dairy industry.
“Very important to open those agreements so that we have access to those markets,” Dave Smith, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, says. Earlier this month, Smith was one of five people from across the county asked to testify in Washington before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. “There’s people there who want our product but because of some political reasons they don’t have free access and we don’t have access to provide them with our product,” Smith says.
“That’s the backbone of America. If the farmers go down it’s going to affect everyone,” Graybill, says. He tells CBS21 News he’s witnessed firsthand how years of low milk prices has affected him and his peers. “There’s been farmers who’ve gone out of business because of it,” he says. “ It’s not that they’re bad managers. It’s just that the price of milk has put them in that position.”
According to the USDA Pennsylvania lost 370 dairy farms in 2018. Industry experts say that’s not just bad news for dairy farmers, the impact is felt in all corners of the Commonwealth.
“The dairy industry in Pennsylvania provides over $14.7 billion of economic revenue to our communities,” Smith adds.
After passing in the Senate, the bills that make up the farming first legislative package were sent to respective Committees in the House. It’ll be up to the Chairmen of those Committees to bring the bills to a vote on the House floor.
