Rep. Tonko Joins Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus

Press Release

Rep. Tonko Joins Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus

Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-21) announced Wednesday that he has joined the revived Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus to help advocate on behalf of dairy farmers, who are struggling to stay afloat in the face of weak demand and oversupply, which has pushed the wholesale price of dairy products well below the cost to produce them.

"I cannot tell you how many times, since taking office in January, that one of the local dairy farmers in the 21st Congressional District has said to me that they've never seen conditions as bad as they are now," said Rep. Tonko. "Jobs are being lost; families and lives are being destroyed. Now is the time to act to save the dairy farms that not only serve as an economic engine for our area, but are also interwoven into the fabric of many communities."

The wholesale price paid for milk has plummeted because of a worldwide drop in demand due to the slowing economy. At the same time, the cost to produce milk remains high thanks to increasing costs for energy, fertilizer and grain. Because farmers are losing money on the milk they produce, some are predicting that a prolonged recession will put many small and midsized farms out of business. In the 21st Congressional District alone, 25% of dairy farms and 5,000 milk cows were lost from 2002-2007.

On Tuesday, Rep. Tonko spoke to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about how dire the situation has become.

Rep. Tonko added: "If we were business people, which of us would choose to operate a business with continuous negative returns? For many dairy farmers, the more they produce the more they lose. We have to take steps to bolster the market and keep our local farms functioning. Dairy farms form the backbone of communities throughout upstate New York and the closure of these farms will have catastrophic effects for many local communities."

The Congressional Dairy Caucus was created during the 110th Congress in advance of the most recent Farm Bill but was not reauthorized at the beginning of the 111th Congress. The Caucus will serve as a mechanism to educate members and their staff on issues of concern to the dairy industry while also serving as a means to build consensus on legislation impacting the dairy industry. Additionally, the Caucus will work with industry leaders, dairy economists, and most importantly, farmers and distributors to reach common sense bipartisan solutions to address the current dairy crisis.

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