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Dairy farmers take hit, dump milk

Coronavirus pandemic blamed for disrupting supply, demand

Dairy farmers are taking a hit in their wallets as fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Pennsylvania dairy farmers have found themselves with no option other than to dump excess milk, despite reports of grocery stores with empty dairy aisles and purchase limits for customers, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

“We dumped 90,000 pounds last week or about 10,000 gallons — worth about $15,000 — of milk. We were told the processing plants are backed up with an oversupply of milk. Some stores are limiting their purchasing of dairy products,” said owner Dave Hoover of Thousand Hill Dairy, Patton.

COVID-19 has radically disrupted normal milk supply and demand.

“We have been hearing cases across the state (and nationally) of farmers being told by the processors they work with to dump milk. This is largely happening because the major drop in demand from restaurants and institutional food service due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a sudden oversupply of milk,” said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau spokesman Liam Migdail.

Migdail said it is heartbreaking to see milk being dumped.

“Dairy producers were just beginning to have reasons to be optimistic about the future after years of low prices and market volatility that forced many Pennsylvania farms to exit the business. Pennsylvania alone lost 370 dairy farms in 2018. Now, the dairy sector is again threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Migdail said.

“Dumping milk is not a common practice, so it is discouraging for dairy farmers who work hard to create a wholesome, nutritious product every day. However, these are unprecedented times for every industry across the nation. Many in the dairy industry are working very hard to find solutions internally, and (the Food and Drug Administration) and (the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture) have been working alongside to make it easier to adjust,” sad Emily Barge spokeswoman for the Center for Dairy Excellence.

For several years, dairymen have not been making a profit, said Marty Yahner, co-owner of Yahner Bros. Farm, Patton.

“They were going out of business by the hundreds all over this nation. The single biggest reason was the consistent drop in per capita consumption of fluid milk. A whole generation of kids don’t like milk now because all they were given in schools was skim milk because of the foolhardy idea of Michelle Obama in cutting milk fat. The truth is it is healthy and skim milk does not taste good. Now, politicians like U.S. Rep. GT Thompson. R-5th District, are pushing legislation to promote and allow whole milk to be given in schools. It never should have been taken out. Now, due to the pandemic and supply chain disruptions, dairymen have been told by their processors to dump milk down the drain while the stores were limiting the amount of gallons that customers could buy. You just can’t make this stuff up,” Yahner said.

Hoover is upset about the situation.

“We are being forced to work and are not getting anything for it. We are not the only ones. There are lots of farmers in the Lancaster area; it is statewide. We took over the farm 10 years ago and have never had to do this. My dad never had to do this when he ran the farm,” Hoover said.

Hoover said the corona­virus has scared people.

“The processing plants had to play catch up. The stores are setting limits on how much they purchase. They don’t want to buy too much and not have people get in to buy it. The cheese plants are also backed up and full,” Hoover said.

Dairy cases have been hit hard in the grocery stores.

“Grocers were, and still are, finding their shelves cleared out before it is time to restock. To limit panic-buying and keep customers content, limited purchases on dairy were imposed. Stores would rather their shoppers have some of what they need, rather than none,” according to PDA.

The panic buying has been dying down.

“Retail sales are beginning to soften somewhat from where they were over the past couple of weeks. The first week after the pandemic broke, retail sales (or sales in grocery stores) were up 38 percent. That leveled out a little bit since, but sales into grocery stores are still up about 15 to 20 percent from a year ago, as stores work to restock shelves and keep up with orders,” Barge said.

Many area farmers are not dumping milk.

“This is not something we’ve experienced at Vale Wood. We’re small enough that we’re fairly nimble and can redirect our supply fairly quickly. We’re packing far fewer half pints of milk, but we’re making more ice cream than we usually do in July,” said spokeswoman Carissa Itle Westrick of Vale Wood Farms, Loretto. “Myself and some of my close neighbors have not (dumped milk); our milk has been picked up and delivered to the Carlisle area,” said Doug Smith, owner of Dry Creek Farm, Martinsburg.

Brian Detwiler, partner in Maple Kraft Farm, Sinking Valley, said he is not dumping milk but is losing money.

“What will hurt us is milk futures are going way down. The price has dropped $5 per hundredweight in 60 days. In March, it was $16.20 to $16.25 for Class 3 milk. We are looking at $11.60 for May, and June isn’t much better. July, August and September hopefully may get better. We are looking at an $18,000 to $20,000 loss in May and June. The near future doesn’t look good,” Detwiler said.

Producers who have been dumping milk are encouraged to document all of their losses, Migdail said.

Meanwhile, to address the current public health emergency, milk dealers may donate milk free of charge and make charitable sales of milk below applicable minimum resale prices. Such donations and charitable sales must be made to 501(c)(3) organizations or organizations registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State as charitable organizations. Such donations and charitable sales must also be made for bona fide charitable purposes and not to solicit or secure business, according to a bulletin sent out by the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.

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