HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding is
seeking further support from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to help Pennsylvania
dairy producers recover from sustained record low milk prices.
Redding joined the state agriculture leaders of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont in
a letter to Vilsack seeking reinstatement of the federal support price for
cheddar block and barrel cheese and non-fat dry milk to levels established in
August 2009.
“Pennsylvania’s dairy sector accounts for more than 40 percent of our
agriculture industry, and extended low prices only serve to compound an already
struggling economy,” Redding said. “Many of our dairy producers have gone months
without a paycheck, and that negatively impacts our state as a whole.
“Restoring the support prices will provide an immediate boost to the economic
stability of Pennsylvania’s nearly 7,300 dairy farm families, and help them
begin to rebuild the decades of equity lost during the past 15 months.”
The state officials recognized previous efforts by USDA to help the dairy
industry nationwide by making a significant cheese purchase for food banks,
distributing payments to dairy producers through the Dairy Economic Loss
Assistance Payment, or DELAP, program, lessening the effects of low dairy prices
through the Dairy Export Incentive Program, and more.
Governor Edward G. Rendell has strongly advocated for Pennsylvania’s dairy
farmers at the federal and state levels, including by requesting prompt payment
from USDA to producers in the DELAP program and ensuring that the state’s milk
pricing system rewards producers for their hard work.
Under the current pricing system, a portion of the minimum retail price of every
gallon of milk sold in PA is not going to dairy producers — a factor which the
Governor is trying to change.
Secretary Redding and the other state agriculture leaders also pledged to
continue working with USDA to support the Northeast region’s dairy sector.
Included in these efforts is providing ongoing updates to USDA about the health
of the dairy industries in the northeastern states and supplying ideas for
policy changes on the national level that will aid dairy producers.
Media contact: Justin Fleming, 717-787-5085