Frustrated farmers give Vilsack an earful

Dairy prices top the list for many at USDA's 'Rural Tour'

By CECILIA PARSONS

Capital Press

MODESTO, Calif. -- Low milk prices and water shortages were among the problems hundreds of Central Valley farmers and dairy producers posed to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The meeting was part of the Obama administration's "Rural Tour," a nationwide effort to listen to residents of rural communities and to discuss how government programs can assist them. It was the 17th forum led by Vilsack since he was sworn into office and was one of two events scheduled in the West.

Wearing red shirts to signify "they were bleeding red ink," dairy producers asked for more action to help them stay in business.

Linda Lopes, representing a dairy women's organization, said the recent support price hike and boost in export help "were not enough."

"We're not seeing it in our milk checks. We need higher and longer support prices because if they don't stay up, the next time this happens we'll have no equity, and it will be the end of the dairy industry in California," she said.

Lopes echoed accountant Gary Genske, who represents dairy producers in several states.

"Co-ops say it will be a year until things get better," he told Vilsack. Genske said relief for producers has to come faster before more go out of business.

Vilsack, who said he has heard similar pleas nationwide, couldn't promise a quick fix.

Short term, he said, there could be some help with additional exports. Long term, he said, the administration is looking at every idea out there.

Vilsack pointed to the recently approved advisory committee that will work on long-term solutions to the volatility of milk prices received by producers.

It would help the committee move forward, Vilsack said, if the dairy industry were more united in its goals.

Antoinette Duarte, one of the red shirt-wearing dairy producers, said producers recognize the economic difficulties facing the Obama administration. Producers aren't looking for handouts, she said, they just want to see changes in pricing structure for milk. For its part, the industry is looking at production controls to bring supply more in line with demand.

Vilsack said raising price supports isn't that simple. At the start of the new fiscal year, he said, there may be more funding.

He said USDA loan programs and commercial banks have been asked to cut producers a break and allow them to continue to stay in business.

The nation's farms are valuable for what they produce and add to the economy, said Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, but farmers are valuable for being the fabric of their communities.

"We want to preserve that value system you have," he told the audience.

Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor, Calif. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.

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Previous rural tour forums are available at www.ruraltour.gov