Save the American Dairy Farmer

If you’re like me, you don’t think about the fact that the gallon of milk you purchase at the store is actually costing a dairy farmer somewhere money out of their pocket. Most dairy farmers right now are struggling to survive and are being paid much less for their milk than it costs them to produce it. The dairy industry is hemorrhaging dairy farmers at an alarmingly high rate due to the fact that they can no longer afford to maintain their farms. The global recession fast track has left dairy farmers with an overabundance of milk at a time when wholesale prices for milk have spiraled downward into near oblivion. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he is working to come up with a plan to help and assist America’s dairy farmers, but when asked at a recent public forum why the USDA hasn’t done more to limit importation of powdered milk protein his reply that “it was on his radar, but very complicated” went over like sour milk. Things need to get “uncomplicated” for dairy farmers quickly before they simply become a vanishing breed.