In other dairy news, David Gram is reporting for the Associated Press that New England states are teaming up to get consumers to help save the area’s struggling dairy farms. To view the article click here. According to the article,
Agriculture officials and farmers in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have launched a program called Keep Local Farms to stop a trend that has seen New England lose two-thirds of its dairy farms since 1990. Organizers say they hope to appeal to consumers' growing taste for local foods, pitching dairy products from anywhere in the six-state New England region as local.The Keep Local Farms organizers have established a website to allow people to make contributions and urging universities and other institutions to charge extra for milk in their cafeterias. The University of Vermont is the first to sign on.
According to Scott Soars, the commissioner of agriculture in Massachusetts,
“It's a response to what we have heard from consumers wanting to pay more for milk if they have the opportunity and the assurance that that additional fee is going to go to the dairy farms directly," Soares said.To view the Keep Local Farms website, click here.
Posted: 09/17/09
