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Md. Dairy Task Force
Airs Recommendations
(Continued from Pago A 1)
Force, a group created late last
year by an act of the Maryland
Legislature.
It is not the first such task force
to be created in Maryland to search
for answers to why the state’s dairy
farms, processors and producers
are disappearing.
According to Myron Wilhide, a
Maryland dairy fanner who repre
sented the Maryland Farm Bureau
on the Task Force, the 1996 Task
Force has been the third created by
the state Legislature since 1993 to
address the Maryland dairy prob
lem. He has served on all three.
He also said some of the find
ings of the 1993 Dairy Task Force
have been repeated in the follow
ing two, including the preliminary
1996 Dairy Task Force findings
discussed Monday.
The final recommendations of
the Task Force are to be reported to
the Maryland Legislature and to
Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening
later this year.
Maryland Secretary of Agricul
ture Lewis Riely, co-chairs the
Task Force with Dr. Dennis
Westhoff, chair of the University
of Maryland Department of Ani
mal Sciences.
According to the background
provided by the Task Force, Mary
land has lost a significant amount
of its dairy farmers, as have most
older states which have historical-
ly had significant numbers of dairy
producers.
But, while many states have lost
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farms, milk production within
those states generally has not been
on the decline, until more recently.
More recently, the national pic
ture of dairy production has shifted
to traditionally non-dairy areas of
the United States, which have
become sites for mega-dairies pro
ducing nationally significant
amounts of milk and meat These
areas include New Mexico, Texas,
and regions of California (accord
ing to some sources. California has
continued to grow larger because
of cheap labor and water laws that
benefit such growth).
Also, the ability of fewer farms
to produce more has lead to a
decrease in the total number of
farms, and dairy cows, while the
supply of milk has either increased
or stayed constant
However, Maryland has not
only been losing its farms, but also
its dairy production.
According to the draft recom
mendations, the assumption by the
Task Force for the loss of the dairy
industry in Maryland is that there
are several factors weighing heavi
ly against dairy production and
processing, and they all seem to
come down to a lack of protection
and adequate support of the dairy
industry, and in a larger sense, the
Maryland agricultural community
and its land base.
Create An
Expert Team
The first recommendation was
that a “Dairy Business and Man
agement Team” be formed to
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strategies which are profitable and s y stem h® operated through die pale in receiving the direct assis
sustainable to dairy producers in oversight and support of one ccntr- tance of the team, the dairy pro
an urban environment” al team and seven! regional teams, duccrs would be required to attend
The University of Maryland In other words, a dedicated team a leadership and management
through its extension program and of cx P erts would, more-or-less, be seminar developed by the overall
agents has created and offered o» call to serve dairy fanners in Dairy Business and Management
dairy farm management courses, specific regions. Team,
based cm Cornell University’s The proposal is that the current The one-time cost to the produc
prognun, PRO-DAIRY. Maryland University of Maryland campus er would be $5OO to attend the
expanded it to PRO-FARM to pro- and field faculty with expertise in seminar in addition to agreeing to
vide business tools to all farmers, dairy extension, dairy farm man- share financial and production
(Penn State University similarly agement, agricultural engineering, records with the team (confiden
offers Dairy MAP, which stands and agronomy would be included dally, of course).
for dairy management and «» *c team- Establish Minimum
profitability). Also, four extension “associ- Mint Prices
The subcommittee of the Task ales” would be hired to support the i n February this year, a seven-
Forcc that worked on the issue team. These associates would have member Task Force subcommittee
stated, in general, in its draft formal training in farm business was formed and given the of
recommendations that, in attempt- managment, ruminant nutrition, reviewing claims of predatory
ing to provide meaningful techni- fon |ge crops and agricultural pricing of milk in Maryland by
cal and informational assistance to engineering. Virginia and Pennsylvania proces
farmers for decision-making, the Additionally, funds would have sors suppliers,
weak link is in putting responsibil- he secured (most likely from the That committee came up with a
ity of the entire delivery system slate general fund) to provide draft recommendation that was
upon the individual county agents, county agents with the ability to discussed Monday: Maryland
It recognized that county exten- ‘ravel outside of their immediate should a dopt a milk marketing
sion agents (especially today with county to help with the develop- similar to established
fewer areas able to afford special- m»t and of cduca- in gC pj nsylvan £ Jjj
ists) are required to serve a variety “onal programs. Am ' nthw nminn. fL
of interests. Most livestock agents The proposal also would have considered takine the
must serve those who produce the overall team develop two spe- ™
beef, swine, sheep and dairy and in cific educational forums - one speciSy pS
many cases other species equally, providmg a more general group n £j vania an< j vinrinil’s mini-
Most livestock agents can’tafford, setting, applicable to all dairy far- m y ilk
much less be allowed by the exten- mers; and a local advisory group However accoidimr to the Tact
sion mission, to dedicate their time *a‘ would assist specific dairy F subcommittee, that tactic is
specifically to dairy operations, managers in their operations. vSTZiS bS on
F “ rt J er - ‘he subcommittee . A four-year plan is proposed for advice from the Ma^l^Attor
noted that funds for transportation “"P*«" enUn S and dehvenn 8 the Generali wh oadWsed that the
for county agents are restnetive, program. Pennsylvania uroEram was unheld
and don’t permit the type of travel- For the first three yean, each . Supreme P
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The: propel recommendation °f filing 50 daip, prcto hS StSjiS
is that the program needs to be per year to participate, and then mald it . for Pennsvlvania
changed and become more direct achieve a maintained level of 150 vfrainia milk sell
in providing face-to-face, expert
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