Friends of Rural New York

by John Bunting

The United States of America reelected President George W. Bush. Most people know that Americans focused on the pivotal point, a cloudy area called “moral values.� Traditional family farms, those icons of moral values, will continue to fold under the Bush administration’s agenda - a weight too large to bear. The cost to farm families, farm communities and the rural landscape cannot be measured.

It will, however, be felt.

More than once on the campaign trail George Bush mentioned that farmers were doing okay. In the key state of Wisconsin, President Bush being chummy with dairy farmers provided the necessary setting for a photo opportunity.

Representative David Obey’s (D-Wis.) staff uncovered a PowerPoint presentation given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) senior dairy economist, Dr. Larry Salathe, to a group of people at the American Dairy Product Institute (ADPI) meeting in April 2004. Salathe presented USDA’s strategic plan, including 2004 goals and objectives, on how to “Maximize votes from major dairy states, such as California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York and Michigan.�

Some of the 2004 objectives included: (1) to keep dairy farmers’ hopes high before the election, and (2) to garner votes and support by promoting “market fundamentals� and “policies.� On the slide entitled “Election Year Fallout,� however, likely possibilities include: “small producer assessment/support price decline,� and “increased likelihood of MILC (Milk Income Loss Contract, a government program that sets a floor price under dairy farmers’ farm-gate milk price) termination.�

While it is true dairy farmers received more for their milk this year, three months of “good pricesâ€? did not last long enough to make up for years of financial stress. For some farmers, these “good pricesâ€? did not cover this year’s cost of production. The stress for dairy farmers began under a previous Republican administration, that of Ronald Reagan. Reagan eliminated a pricing program that required corporate interest to pay farmers a decent price for their milk. As a result, in what is called a “good year,â€? dairy farmers will get about two-thirds the amount they would have received had Reagan not eliminated the program. 

Nationally, in what has been described by President Bush as a good year, dairy farmers will get about three-quarters of their total cost. Dairy farmers will realize less than minimum wage for their effort. Barns will continue to need paint. Wives, who traditionally write the checks for the bills from a farming income, will continue to find jobs off the farm to support the farm. Children will not follow in their parents’ footsteps. 

The economic fundamentalists insist there is no need for family farms. The values associated with family farms are, in the final analysis, of no value to them. They insist that large, “efficient� factory farms can supply America’s milk. There are several problems with this thinking. Basically, the public receives no benefit from factory farms. Major players in between the farmers and the consumers retain all financial benefits associated with these farms. Secondly, factory farms represent a growing environmental concern. America’s taxpayers will pay to correct, or possibly prevent, environmental problems. Moreover, data from Cornell University shows that large dairy farms lost money in 2002 through 2003, and experienced a negative return on assets.

Even worse though, is the fact that as family farms have been driven out of business, the large factory farms are not providing enough milk to meet America’s needs. Each year America imports more dairy products, which could and should be produced here. In 2004, the United States imported cheese and butter from countries where even the water is not considered safe.

“Moral values,� should mean something more than getting people to cast a vote reelecting George Bush. “Moral values� should add to the well being of families and communities. The public has an interest in traditional family dairy farms for a whole range of very practical reasons. Presidential leadership requires that the public’s interest in farms and communities not only be respected, but also fulfilled. Any shirking on the president’s part on this issue will clearly demonstrate that he used “moral values� as an election year ploy.

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John Bunting is a dairy farmer from Delhi, New York. He participates in the National Family Farm Coalition’s Dairy Subcommittee and writes for a dairy publication called “The Milkweed.� The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) was founded in 1986 to serve as a national link for grassroots organizations working on family farm issues. http://www.nffc.net
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