Leaders Agree: Establish
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
—The gulf between planning and
actually doing must be narrowed if
dairying is to survive in
Pennsylvania.
And it won’t happen unless
groups with different priorities
learn to set aside their differences
and work toward helping dairy
farms thrive, according to experts
who spoke Thursday morning at a
meeting of Pennsylvania dairy
stakeholders at the Dixon Univer
sity Center in Harrisburg.
More than 80 producers, proces
sors, legislators, bankers, and agri
industry related representatives
met at a forum to vote to establish a
formal group in Pennsylvania and
discuss methods to finance that
organization.
Since June 1992, industry meet
ings have been held to address this
issue. At several times in 1993
through 1995, the Pennsylvania
Dairy Industry Futures Committee
(PDIFC) has met to focus on all
industry stakeholders. As a result,
in June 1994 and 1995, two state
dairy forums were held. A man
date was given to Penn State and
Lancaster
Trust Receives
Overwhelming Support
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.)—Lancaster Farmland Trust
announces the end of its
1995-1996 Annual Funding Cam
paign. The Campaign kicked off
in mid-September of last year and
ended successfully four months
later in mid-January. The Cam
paign goal was the highest ever—
sl6o,ooo and it the most
money that LFT has ever success
fully raised from the Lancaster
community.
Right on the coattails of the
Campaign’s success, the Trust
received welcomed news from the
William Penn Foundation in Phi
ladelphia. The Foundation
awarded the Trust a grant of
$550,000 to be used over a three
year period. The giant will be held
in the Trust’s Land Preservation
Fund and will be used exclusively
toward the preservation of prime
agricultural land in Lancaster
County. The grant is
meant to aid Lancaster
Farmland Trust in its
plans to preserve at
least 30 farms over the
next three years. This is
the third grant made by
the William Penn
Foundation to Lancas
ter Farmland Trust and
is the largest gift pro
vided to the organiza
tion. Combined with
other grants received
from the Foundation, it
represents nearly a mil
lion dollars gifted to the
Trust for the express
purpose of preserving
Lancaster County’s pre
cious farmland.
Lancaster Farmland
Trust is overwhelmed at
this generous display of
financial support for its
efforts. “We feel
strongly that the gener
ous support received
from individuals as well
as the generous support
received from founda
tions such as the Wil
liam Penn Foundation
the state Department of Agricul
ture to convene a stakeholders
group to decide on future
structures.
At the Thursday meeting, stake
holders were brought together for
the same reason to decide if a
representational organization is
necessary. But this one focused on
ways to finally organize it
However, those who attended
agreed that attempts could be ham
pered to establish an organization
now. This is because of the transi
tions taking place the lack of a
Farm Bill (the current version
under review has no provisions for
the dairy industry), die dissolution
of federal support payments, the
uncertainties regarding new mark
ets as a result of the North Ameri
can Free Trade Agreement, and the
continuing search for a Penn State
dean.
But there are models that could
be followed. At the meeting, 11
discussion groups were estab
lished. Of the 83 in attendance, all
voted unanimously to establish an
organization for Pennsylvania that
could mirror successful ones in
other states.
The organization could be simi-
Farmland
major concern in the public sector
is the preservation of farmland in
Lancaster County,” said Phyllis
Whitesell, president of the Board
of Trustees for Lancaster Farm
land Trust.
Lancaster Farmland Trust is a
not-for-profit organization active
ly working to preserve farmland in
Lancaster County. It is committed
to supporting farmers who are
good stewards of the land and to
encourage the growth of the agri
culture industry, recognizing that
our farm heritage has enriched the
lives of all citizens.
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Dairy Organization, Work On Funding
lar to the Minnesota Dairy Leaders
Roundtable, established in 1992,
or the Ohio Daily Strategic Plan
ning Task Force, established in
1993.
Representatives of the Minneso
ta and Ohio organizations spoke to
the dairy stakeholders Thursday
morning.
Edward Frederick, Minnesota
Extension Service, University of
Minnesota and facilitator of the
Minnesota Dairy Roundtable,
spoke about the literal “growing
pains” of the “structure, not orga
nization” established to recapture
the 1990 market share of total U.S.
milk production.
When Frederick worked for
extension from 1958-1964, there
were 130,000 dairy farms in the
state. In 1990, that number had
shrunk to 14,000 farms. While
40,000 are employed in some
aspect of the dairy business in
Minnesota today, associated
employment is actually about
85,000, amounting to an annual
$3.5 billion industry.
This is happening while Minne
sota is dropping production to less
than 10 billion pounds of milk
yearly. Where once they had 6.8
percent of the market share in
1990, in 1995, that number dipped
to 6 percent
Clearly, there was a need to do
something to stop the state from
“losing its production, market,
and infrastructure.” As a result
the roundtable was formed. Stake
holders in the roundtable oversee
the Minnesota Dairy Partnership,
Inc., approved by the roundtable in
December 1992. The partnership,
a collaborative partnership
between the entire dairy sector in
the state, the University of Minne
sota, and related industries, was
established to “bring them
together so at least they can talk
together” and work for the benefit
of the entire dairy industry,
according to Frederick.
Altogether. 350 people are
involved in the non-profit round
table structure and partnership.
Proposed funding for the partner
ship is $500,000 per year for three
years, half from the dairy sector
and half from the state of Minneso
ta. The money is to be allocated to
committees in charge of market
ing, supply, services, and farm,
trade, and breed organizations.
Plans are under way to pass
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Stakeholders In the Pennsylvania dairy industry met on
Thursday at Dixon University Center. From left, Donald
Schiiver, CEO, Milk Marketing, Inc.; Charles Broslus, sec
retary of agriculture; and Edward Frederick, facilitator of
the Minnesota Dairy Leaders Roundtable.
through legislature a bill to estab
lish the Minnesota Dairy Develop
ment Fund, to set up a fund in per
petuity trust to fund the
partnership.
In the meantime, the activities
of the roundtable “set a tone” for
the industry, said Frederick.
Donald Schriver, CEO, Milk
Marketing, Inc., spoke about the
Ohio Dairy Strategic Planning
Task Force established in Decem
ber 1993.
“If your put your minds to it,
you can make some major
changes,” Schriver told the stake
holders on Thursday.
The task force is assisted by the
Ohio State University’s College of
Food, Agricultural, and Environ
mental Sciences, Ohio State Uni
versity Extension, and Ohio Sen.
Grace Drake. A steering commit
tee. comprised of industry leaders,
appointed panels to asssess the
industry in environmental,
finance, legislative areas, market
ing, and production.
Like Minnesota’s Roundtable,
the Ohio task force’s mission state
ment emphasizes the goal of
strengthening overall profitability
and long-term viability of the Ohio
dairy industry, said Schriver.
lire state slipped from 6!h to 9th
place in overall productivity. With
that in mind, Schriver said it was
important to change the “mentali
ty” of thinking that “we have to
own the farm.” If we are locked in
our current thinking, we can’t
move projects to promote the
industry along.
«d
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He told the stakeholders to think
about the efforts of the dairy pro
ducers in Wyoming County, N.Y.,
who meet and are doing many
things to strengthen their represen
tation in the marketplace.
A proposed forum, the Ohio
Dairy Industry Forum (similar to
the Minnesota Roundtable’s dairy
partnership), would act to provide
ways to facilitate production, pro
cessing, marketing, promotion,
and other supporting activities for
the industry. It would be composed
of 11 members two producers,
two processors, one retailer, one
support industry, one consumer
representative, one Ohio State rep
resentative, one representative
from the Ohio Departmentof Agri
culture, and two ex-officio mem
bers of the state legislature.
The financing would be pro
vided by processors, lenders, and
state sources.
Overall, those who attended the
stakeholders forum agreed that the
industry is in trouble and some
thing needs to be done.
Several industry leaders indi
cated their commitment to funding
the oiganization.
The purpose of the meeting was
to “search for direction and deter
mine your desire, your committ
ment to the future of dairying in
Pennsylvania,” said Charles Bro
sius, Pennsylvania secretary of
agriculture.
Brosius asked the forum, “Will
we have dairy farms in Pennsylva
nia in the future or will they be in
New Mexico or someplace else?”
“A strong, prudent board of
directors challenges management
and staff to seek the greatest return
on our investment in ADC,
creating the highest net return to
its members back on the farm. ”
—Richard & Janet Kriebel
Benton, PA