Dear Dairy

I wrote in one of our newsletters a while back about the benefits of raw milk - of which there are numerous - and where to find some.  New England used to be a big dairy farming area back in the day, but as a surplus of milk drove milk prices down to levels that were no longer sustainable, and the government offered a 'whole-herd buyout' program that paid farmers a fee based on their annual milk production figures to stop dairy farming for five years and get rid of their cows (slaughter or sell).  A number of farmers, struggling to earn a living, submitted applications.  Since then other economic factors such as rising land prices, land development and more densely populated areas have all contributed to the demise of many other dairy farms in the area. 

As at 2007, the previous 25 years alone saw a drop in dairy farms from 812 in number to just 187 -  a 77% decline.  The advent of industrial dairy drove many family farms out of business, who just could not compete with the low prices.  “We just can’t survive on 1981 milk prices and 2007 costs,” says dairy farmer Chip Hager of Colrain, Mass., who milks 125 cows on 1,500 acres of owned and rented land with his wife Sherry, daughter Kim and her fiancé Aaron. “Everything we purchase to keep our operation running has gone up in price, but our milk price, which is determined monthly by USDA, keeps going down and last year was at the same level it was 25 years ago.”

In another article we published a 'profile' on the average farmer in the United States, and we noted that the average age was increasing, at the time of the last census the average age of a farmer is 57 years old.  The younger generation are off in search of more glamorous careers, they have watched their parents struggle on family farms for years and want a better life for themselves - who wouldn't?  All these factors combined create a perfect storm, one wherein the agricultural heritage of our country is compromised, industrial agriculture prospers, and our food system is changed for the worse. 

One of the latest of such casualties is the Anderson Brothers Dairy Farm in West Bridgewater, one of the closest access points for raw milk for residents on the South Shore.  The 116 acre dairy farm is run by brothers, both of whom are looking at retirement options and as all of their children have found off-farm careers, there is no one to continue the legacy of this 13 generation operation.  It is very sad.  Fortunately, Wildlands Trust stepped in and for two years worked together with the brothers, and the town to preserve this land for agricultural use only with a deed restriction.  Wildlands Trust had to raise $67,000 in private donations and the community committed $400,000 to the project, the farmers, Richard and Lance let their property go at well below market value to save it from developers.

This is one of the few 'happy endings', and everybody pulled together to make it happen, which is heartening don't you think?  From what I understand, raw milk will no longer be sold from the farm though, so it is off to Foxboro or down to Dartmouth if you would like some and so the ending is bittersweet because whilst the use of the land is secured, open space guaranteed, and the day saved thanks to the hard work of volunteers of Wildlands Trust, the unanimous vote of the residents of West Bridgewater, and the owners of Anderson Bros farm, another family operation and one of the oldest in the area ceases operation and the churn rate for loss of family farms increases by one.