Dairy crisis threatens Berkshire agriculture

Charles and Rhett Proctor

Dairy farming is in crisis in the Berkshires and across Massachusetts. As recently as 1996, 43 dairies operated in the county. By this spring, the census had dropped to 23.

Lovers of fresh milk should worry, but the threat goes further. As one of the defining features of the Berkshire landscape — and of our community roots — dairy farms serve the landscape and its inhabitants in many ways.

Proctor’s Bel-Air Farm has occupied the northwestern quadrant of Egremont’s stunning Baldwin Hill since 1958. With wide panoramas of well-managed field serving 130 milkers, it’s a fair example of the community benefits and financial perils of dairy farming

In testimony before the Massachusetts Legislature in March, Charles Proctor laid out the raw economics of dairying that he, his wife Ellen, and son Rhett face in today’s skewed dairy market.

In 2004, a “good year,” the Proctors produced 3.2 million pounds of milk and had gross income of $580,000.

In 2005, 3.1 million pounds of milk resulted in gross income of $523,000.

In 2006, the Proctors produced 3.4 million pounds. Gross income: $443,000.
Paid less for producing more — this is the plight of today’s dairy farmer. In 1981, the average production price paid to farmers for milk was $1.18 per gallon. In 2006, that price was at $1.14.
Meanwhile, spikes in fuel, heat and electricity bills in the cold Northeast have hammered operating budgets, and the mania for ethanol has driven corn feedstock costs up to $4 per bushel from just $1.50 a year ago.

Responding to an initiative led by Rep. Daniel E. Bosley (D/North Adams) and Rep. Stephen Kulik (D/South Deerfield), Gov. Deval Patrick recently approved $3.6 million in immediate support for Massachusetts dairy producers. He promises to put Beacon Hill to work developing longer-term strategies for saving the industry. Both moves put Massachusetts in line with its neighboring states.

Gimlet-eyed free marketers scoff at such support, pointing out (rightly) that farmers are private entrepreneurs, and suggesting (misguidedly) that the forces of supply and demand should be given free rein.

In fact, milk pricing is almost entirely divorced from market forces. Prices are set by the federal government, and while the price-setting is ostensibly related to national supply and demand with adjustments for regional factors, the Byzantine system is wildly skewed by several factors, including huge agricultural corporations with long-term global contracts.

The Massachusetts Association of Dairy Farmers proposes sustainable price support structures and other strategies designed to help Massachusetts dairy farming without gouging the consumer.

BNRC supports these initiatives. Dairy farms produce more than fresh milk. They create or maintain wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and beautiful scenery. While they are heavily managed landscapes — as opposed to pristine natural lands —they nevertheless help maintain wetlands and other natural water supply and recharge areas. They are a small but significant factor in our regional economy, and a major factor in non-farm landowners’ ability to manage their open fields and pastures.

Add to the list, in this era of climate change, food security: the ability of a region to produce a fair share of its own sustenance. If dairy farms start producing house lots instead of crops, animals and milk, our already limited inventory of agricultural production land will dwindle to the point of irrelevance.