Despite milk prices paid to dairy farmers making recent gains from last year’s crisis levels, David Fitch feels not enough progress has been made to feel confident in the future.
“We lost over $110,000 last year,” said Fitch, who owns a 400-acre dairy farm in West Winfield with 300 head of cattle. “We’ll stay until the end of April; whether we sell out or not, right now, it’s 50-50.”
His decision, like that of other dairy farmers, is tied to the highly-volatile milk pricing system. A system that last year dropped the price paid to farmers well below the cost of production, resulting in major losses.
But federal officials are yet to address possible permanent fixes in the system, leaving room for the pricing to once again fluctuate below sustainable levels.
And the dairy industry is not the only agri-business left with questions in the upcoming spring.
State officials are considering the Farm Worker Fair Labor Practice Act. The bill would require farmers to pay overtime, unemployment and disability insurance. And it proposes collective bargaining and union organizing in the farm industry.
Both local representatives to the state Legislature, Senator James Seward, R-Oneonta, and Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, have spoken out against the bill.
Farmers and representatives with the lobbying organization New York Farm Bureau marched on Albany Tuesday to protest, among other items, the labor bill.
But Fitch, who said he is not opposed to some of the fair labor legislation, feels the bill is being pushed at the most inopportune time. “Right now we can’t afford it,” he said. If politicians addressed long-term fixes in agri-business, labor reform could be something within reach, he said.
Progression of the milk pricing issue
The price per hundred weight, an average measure for how much farmers get for their milk, was projected to top $16, according to figures released this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It marked a major jump from the same time last year when the price reached an estimated low of $12.79. And this low point dropped from the 2008 price of $18.29, according to the report.
Dairy farmers, and politicians, have said cost of production is closer to $18.
Fitch, who is a member of advocacy group Progressive Agriculture Organization, said lawmakers and federal officials have the ability to stabilize milk prices through legislation, but only short-term fixes have been offered.
In December of 2009, dairy farmers in Herkimer County received a total of over $830,000 in direct relief aid. The funds came as part of $40 million statewide distributed by the USDA.
These funds went to a small percentage of farmers, and equated to “a penny on the dollar lost,” Fitch said. “Not even a Band-Aid on the gaping wound,” he added.
County efforts to provide assistance to farmers
While state and federal officials continue to address legislative approaches to agri-business, several county officials have been taking steps to motivate farmers to help themselves.
Legislators organized a meeting in December to held familiarize farmers with services and local agencies that deal with access to assistance.
Legislator Bernard Peplinski, R-Ilion, and Natural Resources Committee chairman, said a similar meeting last week resulted in a non-profit farmer advisory group, Agridevelopment Corporation, agreeing to hold office hours in the building that houses the county’s Water and Soil Department, off Route 5 in East Herkimer.
Seth Mulligan, with Agridevelopment, said his corporation had offices in Syracuse and Geneva, but Herkimer is the first reach into eastern Upstate New York.
The corporation is a nonprofit that is membership driven. It works in an advisory capacity, providing farmers with assistance in gaining access to grants, financial planning and even legal advice, Mulligan said.
Fitch agreed the solution is going to be handled locally. “We have to help ourselves,” he said.
Initiatives by local officials are an example of action resulting from the potential impact of lost revenues, something the state and federal government is yet to realize, according to Fitch.
“At the county, our legislators have recognized how important agri-business are to county finances,” Fitch said.
Also involved in the county meetings, Legislator Fred Shaw, R-Little Falls, said farmers are responsible for a large portion of property taxes. And simply, “Agriculture is the largest business in the county,” he said.
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Despite milk prices paid to dairy farmers making recent gains from last year’s crisis levels, David Fitch feels not enough progress has been made to feel confident in the future.
“We lost over $110,000 last year,” said Fitch, who owns a 400-acre dairy farm in West Winfield with 300 head of cattle. “We’ll stay until the end of April; whether we sell out or not, right now, it’s 50-50.”
His decision, like that of other dairy farmers, is tied to the highly-volatile milk pricing system. A system that last year dropped the price paid to farmers well below the cost of production, resulting in major losses.
But federal officials are yet to address possible permanent fixes in the system, leaving room for the pricing to once again fluctuate below sustainable levels.
And the dairy industry is not the only agri-business left with questions in the upcoming spring.
State officials are considering the Farm Worker Fair Labor Practice Act. The bill would require farmers to pay overtime, unemployment and disability insurance. And it proposes collective bargaining and union organizing in the farm industry.
Both local representatives to the state Legislature, Senator James Seward, R-Oneonta, and Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, have spoken out against the bill.
Farmers and representatives with the lobbying organization New York Farm Bureau marched on Albany Tuesday to protest, among other items, the labor bill.
But Fitch, who said he is not opposed to some of the fair labor legislation, feels the bill is being pushed at the most inopportune time. “Right now we can’t afford it,” he said. If politicians addressed long-term fixes in agri-business, labor reform could be something within reach, he said.
Progression of the milk pricing issue
The price per hundred weight, an average measure for how much farmers get for their milk, was projected to top $16, according to figures released this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It marked a major jump from the same time last year when the price reached an estimated low of $12.79. And this low point dropped from the 2008 price of $18.29, according to the report.
Dairy farmers, and politicians, have said cost of production is closer to $18.
Fitch, who is a member of advocacy group Progressive Agriculture Organization, said lawmakers and federal officials have the ability to stabilize milk prices through legislation, but only short-term fixes have been offered.
In December of 2009, dairy farmers in Herkimer County received a total of over $830,000 in direct relief aid. The funds came as part of $40 million statewide distributed by the USDA.
These funds went to a small percentage of farmers, and equated to “a penny on the dollar lost,” Fitch said. “Not even a Band-Aid on the gaping wound,” he added.
County efforts to provide assistance to farmers
While state and federal officials continue to address legislative approaches to agri-business, several county officials have been taking steps to motivate farmers to help themselves.
Legislators organized a meeting in December to held familiarize farmers with services and local agencies that deal with access to assistance.
Legislator Bernard Peplinski, R-Ilion, and Natural Resources Committee chairman, said a similar meeting last week resulted in a non-profit farmer advisory group, Agridevelopment Corporation, agreeing to hold office hours in the building that houses the county’s Water and Soil Department, off Route 5 in East Herkimer.
Seth Mulligan, with Agridevelopment, said his corporation had offices in Syracuse and Geneva, but Herkimer is the first reach into eastern Upstate New York.
The corporation is a nonprofit that is membership driven. It works in an advisory capacity, providing farmers with assistance in gaining access to grants, financial planning and even legal advice, Mulligan said.
Fitch agreed the solution is going to be handled locally. “We have to help ourselves,” he said.
Initiatives by local officials are an example of action resulting from the potential impact of lost revenues, something the state and federal government is yet to realize, according to Fitch.
“At the county, our legislators have recognized how important agri-business are to county finances,” Fitch said.
Also involved in the county meetings, Legislator Fred Shaw, R-Little Falls, said farmers are responsible for a large portion of property taxes. And simply, “Agriculture is the largest business in the county,” he said.
