Local Milk Marketing Outlook for ‘BB
BY JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
WESTMINSTER, MD.
Middle Atlantic area dairy produc
ers will continue exiting the milk
production business, as houses
replace cows and off-farm
employment opportunities offer
alternatives to IS-hour days and
dropping milk prices.
That’s the prediction given by
John I. Collins, Jr., manager of the
Middle Atlantic Division of Dairy
men, Inc., during the dairy co-op’s
informational meeting held Janu
ary 28 at the Carroll County Ag
Center. The cooperative hosted the
marketing update meeting for
extension agents, agriculture lead
ers and press representatives in
Maryland and southern
Pennsylvania.
The state of Maryland has seen
an exodus of farmers from dairy
ing, resulting in a ten percent
decrease in milk production in the
last quarter of 1987. Especially
hard hit are Howard and Mont
gomery counties, where develop
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ment from the Washington, D.C.,
area continues to sprawl over for
mer farmland. Dairy-oriented Fre
derick and Harfonl counties as
well are under intensive develop
ment pressure from urban housing.
While Pennsylvania has lost
small numbers of dairy farmers,
milk production is on the upswing.
Some producers fleeing develop
ment sprawl are relocating to less
populated areas of the Keystone
state, with Franklin County cur
rently a key area of dairy produc
tion growth.
Total 1987 production in the
Federal Order 4 marketing area of
6.28 billion pounds was a decrease
of two percent from the 6.41 bil
lion pounds produced in 1986.
Class 1 utilization was up about
four percent in 1986-87 over the
1984-85 level, climbing from
45.99 percent fluid milk utilization
to 50.29 percent
In spite of lagging production
and utilization increases, milk
prices to dairy producers have con
tinued a downward trend. Since
1981, the federal milk support
level and the Minnesota-
Wisconsin price, which generally
follows support price movement,
have declined about 75 percent.
Faced with the prospects of con
tinuing price decreases, farmers
working together closely in the
Federal Order 4 marketing area
were able to negotiate over-order
premiums averaging 23 cents from
September through December of
1987.
Through the efforts of MAG
MA, the Middle Atlantic Coopera
tive Marketing Agency, and
cooperating independent proces
sors, milk prices were held above
the announced federal order level.
Members of MAGMA are Atlantic
Dairy Cooperative, Atlantic Pro
cessor producers, Dairymen, Inc.’s
Middle Atlantic Division, and
Maryland and Virginia Milk
Producers.
According to Collins, MAG
MA’s over-order prices are
expected to drop through the
spring flush, but hold above the
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 6, 1988-A27
Dairymen Middle Atlantic division manager John Collins,
Jr., predicts a drop In milk price through 1988, a continuing
exit of dairy producers from the industry, and ongoing need
for remaining producers to cooperatively negotiate over
order premiums,
announced F.O. 4 price. Over
order premiums are not expected
to affect fluid milk consumption.
“The January, 1986, Class I
price was higher than what we cur
rently have with the over-order
premium included, so consumers
are already geared to that retail
market price,” noted Collins. “The
over-order premium is just a tool to
help guarantee a supply of fresh
milk bing produced locally.”
According to Collins, MAGMA
has been able to negotiate over
order prices because of high far
mer membership in dairy coopera
tives working together. Somewhat
less successful were the efforts of
RCMA, the Regional Cooperative
Marketing Agency, especially in
Federal Order 2, where only about
half the total producers are
cooperative members.
RCMA has challenged in court
the non-payment of over-order
(Turn to Pag* A 39)