Dummm Dairy Editorial

Hoard's Dairyman is the national dairy farm magazine, and last evening I received the April 10, 2003 issue (volume 148, number 7). 

Let me set the stage for you. 

Milk prices are depressed. Dairy farmers are going out of business in record numbers. Those still milking cows are producing too much milk. The surpluses go into dried milk powder which is stored in warehouses, costing taxpayers millions of dollars in rent payments. Surplus cheese and butter stocks are also setting records. As of February, 1, 2003, there was 
83% more butter in storage than the previous year, and 6% more cheese. 

Page 261 of this issue of Hoard's (Washington Dairygrams) reveals that the USDA has recently purchased 294 million pounds of nonfat dry milk and 3.8 million pounds of butter. We're sending tons of free, taxpayer-subsidized dairy products to our favorite Middle East shooting gallery. 

Despite the surpluses and low prices, California milk production had increased 4.7% over last year. 

So, what message does Hoard's have with which to unify its readers? 

Editorial Headline: "Does The Industry Have The Fortitude To Address Our Biggest Problem?" 

Well, before I get to their answer, I had to go to my dictionary and get an exact definition for the word "fortitude." 

Fortitude: (noun), courage in facing pain, danger, or trouble; firmness of spirit. 

Hoard's writes: 

"We bought 12 cows for the Hoard's Dairyman Farm this winter. That would seem like a stupid thing...having a barn full of cows may improve our bottom line, but this country needs more milk like it needs more cell phones." 

I am astounded. Talk about setting a poor example. Hoard's continues: 

"We get paid as much for surplus milk as we do the first hundred weight...until the industry develops fortitude to address these realities...the dairy business will look more and more like the swine and poultry industries." 

In other words, Hoards, the 'dairy farm magazine' and voice for all dairymen, asks whether the dairy industry possesses firmness of spirit (fortitude), while at the same time, demonstrating that they are too selfish to take the rein that is in their own hand and lead dairy farmers out of the depression that they themselves have created. 

Instead of cutting back on the number of cows, and creating less of a surplus which contributes to low milk prices, these Hoard's dairmen hoarded cows, overproduced milk, and became part of the problem. 

What a profound lack of leadership! 

Robert Cohen http://www.notmilk.com

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