February 26, 2010

****PRESS TELECONFERENCE: DAIRY FARMERS PRESS FOR EMERGENCY ACTION***

* Economic Collapse and Further Job Losses Imminent without Access to Credit, Emergency Action and a New Milk Pricing System

*BACKGROUND:

*America's dairy farmers confront economic ruin as they face another year of 1970s prices for their milk. In the past year alone, thousands of dairy farmers have gone out of business and thousands more are on the brink of economic collapse as projections for 2010 show continued low prices. These losses hurt not just dairy farmers and their families but the thousands of farm-related jobs, including feed mills, fuel suppliers, and veterinarians along with the tax base of our communities.

The National Family Farm Coalition will convene a press teleconference to address the difficulties farmers are having now to access credit to keep their dairy operations alive. Speakers will present dairy farmer experiences from across the country.

NFFC is also urging Congress for emergency relief and to advocate for a permanent solution to the dairy crisis by fixing the pricing system. NFFC will send a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack on March 2 urging action - one year after our initial letter reiterating transition demands that warrant immediate action and cannot wait for the next farm bill in 2012. Record high foreclosure rates are forecast and too many recent reports of accidents, farmer desperation, and suicides reflect the urgency of the situation.
Senate Bill 1645, introduced in 2009 by Senator Arlen Specter, would allow farmers' cost of production to be factored into the prices they receive.

*WHO:

Moderator: Paul Rozwadowski, NFFC Dairy Subcommittee Chairman and Wisconsin dairy farmer

Arden Tewksbury - Manager of ProAg and retired Pennsylvania dairy farmer
Loren Lopes - California dairy farmer
Brenda Cochran - Pennsylvania dairy farmer
Stacey McAllister - Missouri dairy farmer
Gretchen Maine - New York dairy farmer
Joel Greeno - Wisconsin dairy farmer; President of ARMPPA and at-large member of NFFC Executive Committee

*WHEN:

March 2, Tuesday, 2 P.M. (EST)
Call (202) 543-5675 for call-in information or email lisa@nffc.net.