By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Like many other industries, dairy farmers across the country are facing tough times. But while they may not be receiving mass government bailouts to keep their operations solvent, their plight is not going unnoticed.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recently wrote to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding challenges faced by dairy farmers in Ohio and across the country. Sharply declining milk prices, coupled with a steady high cost of input has put many dairy producers in economic trouble.

“Our nation’s dairy industry is in jeopardy,” Brown wrote in his letter to Vilsack. “If nothing is done to address the profitability of our nation’s dairy farms, I am concerned that a staggering number of them will be forced to shut down. The loss of dairy farms would harm thousands of rural communities where agriculture and dairy are the primary sources of income.”

Ohio ranks 5th in the nation for the number of dairy operations and ranks 11th nationally in milk production. Brown said such a loss in our dairy industry would not only be devastating on a local level in the rural communities where agriculture and the dairy industry are primary sources of income, but it would also increase America’s vulnerability to reliance on foreign inputs.

“I do believe Ohio’s dairy industry is in jeopardy,” said Ken Steele, an independent dairy consultant with Agri Nutrition Consulting. Steele lives in Wayne County, Ohio and provides nutritional support for nearly 3,000 dairy cows in the area. Wayne County is the state’s dairy leader in both milk cow inventory and milk marketed according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. “Prices are just too low, and there’s not any reason to support such low prices. It’s putting a lot of stress on farmers because they are losing money.”

Steele said that in many cases, even those producers who think they are making money are not because they are raising their own inputs and not taking those costs into account. “Farming is the only business that puts forth 100 percent of their work and effort and asks the market, ‘What will you give me for it?’” Steele said. “Ninety percent of the system passes on their increased expenses to their customers, but farmers don’t do that.”

One of the frustrating parts of that dilemma is the lack of public understanding, Steele said.

Those listening to mainstream media get the idea that farmers just pass along their increased expenses, like higher taxes and grain prices to the consumers. But that’s just not the case.

Steele added that increasing pressure from animal rights groups in the state will only increase the pressure and challenges today’s producers are facing.

With more than 3,000 dairy farms, Ohio’s dairy and food processing industries are critical sectors in the state’s agricultural economy. Brown cited declining milk prices coupled with high operating costs as key problems threatening the profitability of the dairy industry.

Steele agrees, adding that the speculator’s role in determining grain prices can be devastating to dairy producers. When livestock producers pay more for their feed, they cannot pass those increased costs along.

“Speculators should not be able to buy anything they can’t store,” Steele said. “That’s what’s killing the dairy industry. That’s what’s killing the nation.”

There are simple things the USDA could do, Steele added, that would make a huge difference to dairy farmers. For example, they could provide milk and cheese certificates to those families in need of financial assistance.

“Dairy foods are healthy choices,” Steele said. “That alone would be a big plus to the industry, and it would be a better, healthier nutritional choice for people who need assistance.

A big part of the problem the dairy industry is facing, Steele said, is the lack of understanding the general public has for the U.S. agricultural industry.

Brown is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years. According to a study conducted by Ohio State University’s Social Responsibility Initiative with the Center for Farmland Policy Innovation last September, some studies show the Ohio’s dairy industry accounts for as much as one-third of the state’s total agricultural income.