naummum Fwmng, spunky, DtotmlMr 31,1981
BATAVIA, NY Art Little
was bom and raised on a small
dairy farm in the hills of New
Hampshire. After seeing his father
struggle to earn a living tUbugh
dairying, he decided he would
devote his life to improving the
dairy farmer’s status.
For this devotion to the farmers
in the Northeast, the Regional
Cooperative Marketing Agency
(ROMA) presented Little with a
plaque to thank him for his fifteen
years of service to its dairy farm
family members. RCMA mem
bers are especially grateful to
Little for giving “that extra effort”
that has been a major factor in the
current success of RCMA.
Indeed Little’s work on behalf
of dairy farmers did go beyond the
call of duty. Even after his 1984
heart attack, which his doctor said
would disable him for life, he con
tinued to work for RCMA because
it was a cause he believed in.
In 1973, when dairy farmers
were caught in the most serious
cost/price squeeze within the last
half century, Little helped bring
the first over-order pricing agency
into being, and began establishing
fluid milk prices above the
Government-set price.
According to Little, dairy farm
ers were in “dire straights” and
many people traveled to Washing
ton to see about improved farm
prices, but the United States Sec
retary of Agriculture refused to
give a price increase through the
Federal Order System.
“Under the advice of the Direc
tor of the Dairy Division, Yankee
Milk (now Agri-Mark), Richmond
Co-op, Nedco, Mass. Co-op Milk
Producers Federation, Upstate,
Niagara, and Dairylea Co-ops
joined together to form a common
marketing agency. RCMA came
into being on June 23,1973 when
the first officers were elected from
NEWS FROM
\regjonalcooperative\ S~\
\MARKETING AGENCY INC\ x
KCUAPhA
RCMA Announces 28 Cents
For October Milk Premium
BATAVIA. NY The Reg
ional Cooperative Marketing
Agency (RCMA), the
22,000-member dairy farmer
organization, paid to its members
a 280 cash premium per hundred
pounds (cwt) of milk shipped dur
ing October.
“We have done what many peo
ple didn’t believe was possible,”
said RCMA Executive Director
Ed Anna. “We distributed $37
Million in our first 14 months of
payouts (since September 1987);
and fanners will receive many
more RCMA premiums in 1989
because we’re stronger than
ever!”
Anna said 1988 was a good year
for RCMA and its fanners. “The
280 per cwt. premium on October
milk is double the January pre
mium of 140 per cwt.” According
to Anna, the highest premium paid
to members so far was 300 per
cwt on milk shipped during April
1988.
When asked what has contri
buted to the success of RCMA,
Anna said the farmers have made
RCMA successful by standing
Portrait Of A Dairy Leade,
these eight cooperatives; and I
was asked to be the Executive
Director in Avgust,” explained
Little.
Although working full time as
the economist and office manager
for the Northeast Dairy Coopera
tive Federation, Little accepted
the position, and began to consider
what the agency’s organizational
structure should be. Under Little’s
guidance, RCMA was effective
for 18 months, between 1973 and
‘75, in New England and Western
New York in establishing prices
over those set by the Federal
Order. “We collected $22 million
in ‘over-order premiums’ for dairy
farmers,” said Little. “In August
1975, we established our last over
order premium at that time
because of low membership and
market competition,” he
explained.
In December, Fairdale Farms of
Bennington, VT charged Yankee
Milk and RCMA with “price
fixing and monopoly” said Little.
Being the only RCMA employee.
Little acted as advisor for the
lawyers from the two law firms in
New York and Connecticut who
worked on the 9-year long case.
Although still employed at Nedco,
Little spent 75% of his time on the
lawsuit. “I was so convinced that
RCMA was the only way to go, it
seemed the only thing to do,”
explained Little.
During these nine years. Little
continued to push RCMA to all
dairy farmers, attending meetings
throughout New England and
New York State and answering
questions about RCMA. The law
suit ended in August 1984, when
the US Supreme Court refused to
hear the case.
Shortly after that. Little suf
fered a heart attack which incapa
citated him for four months from
together, “perhaps like they have
never stood together before in the
Northeast”.
Anna explained that whenever
dealers decided they wouldn’t par
ticipate in the RCMA program,
dairy farmers promised not to ship
their milk to those dealers. “When
those promises came long, loud
and clear from hundreds of pro
ducers and dairy farm leaders,
dealers came to realize that
RCMA was, and is, a force to be
reckoned with,” said 'Anna.
“RCMA is a force with com
passion and understanding,” he
said, “first for dairy farmers, and
secondly, for processors and con
sumers.” Anna said RCMA has
been successful because it has
been “good for fanners, good for
processors, and good for
consumers.”
Although RCMA is strong,
some farmers still have not
received the peace of mind that
comes with pricing their own milk
Anna said. “RCMA encourages
all of these farmers to join.” Call:
1-800-634-3723.
his role in RCMA and his brand
new position as Assistant to the
Vice President of Membership at
Dairylea Cooperative in Syracuse,
NY. “It appeared that I would nev
er go back to work; but I firmly
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believe it was through my faith
and my determination not to be
disabled that I got back into the
workforce,” Little said. He
returned to work in the fall of
1984 only to find that RCMA was
on the front burner again. Accord
ing to Little, independent produc
ers wanted to be part of RCMA
this time. Therefore, on legal
advice, the RCMA by-laws were
restructured to allow for his.
From early ‘B5 to late ‘B6, Little
worked with many dedicated vol
unteers traveling throughout the
11 states in the Northeast to sign
up dairy farmers, estimated to be
nearly 30,000 in all. Little became
physically exhausted from this
sign-up effort of scheduling as
many as five meetings per week,
sometimes twice a day, in the
afternoon and evening in different
locations.
This led to another health fail
ure in late 1986, at which time his
doctor forbid him to keep up his
fast pace and ordered him away
for two weeks. Although very dif
ficult for him. Little decided he
must notify the RCMA Board that
he would withdraw from his posi
tion as Executive Director as soon
as they could find a replacement
for him.
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In January 1987, Ed Anna was
hired to fill the position. Little
worked 100% for Dairylea from
then until mid-1987, at which time
Anna requested Little’s assistance
at RCMA. Since then. Little has
been working for RCMA on a
part-time basis. He said he enjoys
the work, but “it’s difficult for me
to understand why all producers
won’t participate in this program,
where there is no danger of losses
and much to be gained.”
Little said, “I’ve always been
hopeful that when I’m through,
dairy farmers will be a little better
off than they would have been if I
wasn’t around.” According to
Little, the whole RCMA business
has been difficult on his family,
but they have been very suppor
tive of everything he has done,
“particularly my wife Helen”.
Little said, “Although I missed a
lot when my three girls were
growing up, I worked hard for
RCMA because I wanted to help
dairy farmers. I firmly believe that
RCMA is the only way dairy
farmers arc going to get any price
relief or improved income over
the long term. I feel we are mak
ing headway through RCMA; we
are improving the status of the
dairy farmer.”
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