Dairy farmers around the country are facing the lowest prices for milk in more than two decades. Processing companies have driven down the price paid by almost 40 percent since September. Over the past two months farmers have received less then $10 per hundredweight, about 11.6 gallons, for raw milk. The USDA estimates that in the Northeast it costs a dairy farmer $19.12 to produce a hundredweight of milk.

In face of this dairy farmers have begun a series of protests and rallies throughout the region.

The action here was in the parking lot of a local hardware store. The Progressive Agricultural Organization of Pennsylvania was one of the main sponsors. Ardin Tewksbury, a dairy farmer and organizer of the group, chaired the event. Tewksbury explained the devastating impact the crisis facing dairy farmers has on the entire rural economy in northeastern Pennsylvania. He also pointed to the squeeze that farmers face from rising production costs and falling milk prices, noting that a local milk processor announced a 15 cent per hundredweight surcharge for hauling our milk because of rising fuel prices.

The many handmade signs at the protest captured the mood of those attending. "Processors must pay dairy farmers a fair price"; "Handouts No!, Fair Prices Yes!" and "Why are dairy farmers receiving same prices as 1978?" read some of them. Other signs pointed to a discussion going on among farmers about the cause of the current crisis. One farmer's hand-lettered sign read "Free trade is killing dairy farmers."

Ken Benhart, a farmer with a small dairy herd from the area, said in an interview that this was the first protest that he had ever been to.

"I've been trying to just hang on for the last couple of years," Benhart said. "In January I got $11 for my milk, but my break-even price is $14, and I have low debt. Last year I got $800 emergency aid from the government. Big deal! In a month and a half I went $4,000 into debt."

Brenda Cochran, the wife of a dairy farmer, told the rally that the growing movement among dairy farmers is new and its leadership was still being tested. Speaking on behalf of Ag Action 2000, a campaign launched by dairy farmers with a series of protests February 1, she said farmers have "decided to politicize and socialize this issue." She pointed to the upcoming national events and a protest in Washington, D.C., March 21 as something farm families should attend.

Mike Galati is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 174.  
 
 
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