Maryland’s $1 Billion Dairy Industry At Critical Junction Maryland Dairy Industry Association Maryland’s dairy industry is at a crossroads. Its future direction and viability depends-upon indus try and government leaders who are committed to the benefits of a local source of fresh, high-quality dairy products, an attractive open landscape, and continuance of a productive way of life for future generations of rural families. Dairy farming remains one of Maryland’s most important commodity groups, ranking third in eco nomic importance in the state’s largest single indus try, agriculture. Farm families produced 1.29 billion pounds of milk in 2001, netting cash receipts of $2OB million. Nearly 750 farm families tended 82,000 dairy cows throughout the state. An esti mated 350,000 acres of productive open space is dedicated to dairy farming, protecting and nurtur ing an appealing rural environment. Maryland milk is delivered to more than a dozen dairy processing plants, providing local citizens with a wide array of fresh dairy products, including more than 600 million quarts of milk and 26 million gallons of ice cream annually. Agriculture, includ ing dairy production and processing, employs more than 300,000 workers. But Maryland continues to lose dairy farms at an alarming rate, more than 200 farms in the past six years, far greater than regional U.S. averages. The Maryland Dairy Industry Association (MDIA) is dedicated to stopping this loss and protecting this important $1 billion-plus state industry. It needs the active and dedicated support of elected officials, policymakers, regulators, educators, business lead ers, and all members of the dairy industry. Dairy issues are both state and federal in nature. Here are state challenges that merit attention and consideration: • Maryland Dairy Quality Management Pro gram Three years ago, the Maryland General As sembly passed, and Governor Glendening signed, legislation to assist state dairy producers in improv ing business management, production efficiency, and on-farm profits. It was never funded, even after repeated efforts by MDIA and other groups. It would form the foundation for bringing Maryland into the highly successful Regional Dairy Quality Management Alliance, already operating in 12 sur rounding states. Despite lack of support from the state, the dairy industry initiated five pilot pro grams on Maryland dairy farms. These now need to be expanded into the MDQMP program with state funding, which includes critical public health and food safety protection for all of the state’s citizens. • Nutrient Management Regulations State and federal environmental regulations are being promulgated to control runoff from farms and live stock operations into tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Overall, this is a good initiative, and dairy pro ducers support it. They are the state’s best environ mentalists, for they make their living from the land. But practicality and reason must be incorporated into such regulatinos, and cost-sharing of the thou sands of dollars in required investment must be part of the program. Maryland cannot afford to penalize its remaining dairy producers, and jeopardize their concentrated livestock operations through unrealis tic regulations. The dairy industry must be a part of any decision-making and oversight process. • School Lunch Programs Purchases, promo tion, and availability of nutritious milk and dairy products in school breakfast and lunch programs are mainly a county or local issue. It’s difficult for the cash-strapped dairy industry to compete with product-connected cash contracts offered to schools by the soft drink and snack industries. But the dairy industry has initiated pilot programs to produce more attractive packaging, and on in-school vend ing machines to place milk and dairy products before students. Assistance in placing dairy prod ucts in educational institutions through regulatory, administrative, or cost-sharing initiatives is criti cally important and needed for the life-long health benefits of America’s next generation. • Farmland Preservation and Land Use Eco nomic pressures to develop open spaces in Mary land are acute. Farmland throughout Maryland continues to shift from dairy and crop production to commercial development and other uses. During the past five years, the state has lost more than 5,000 acres of cropland, mainly to urban and subur ban development. Dairy farming remains one of the most appealing and attractive uses of open spaces, especially in the northern and Piedmont areas of the state. Local, county, and state farmland preserva tion programs must be adopted and enforced, and incentives developed to keep producers on the farm as good stewards of the land. • Dairy Product Promotion Milk is one of na ture’s most perfect foods, and should be promoted as a source of nutrition and good health. Maryland has recently initiated an osteoporosis prevention (Turn to Pago 36)
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