The Albany Times-Union recently published this Op Ed from Dean Boor:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that New York has surpassed California as the top producer of yogurt in the U.S. This is a hard-earned and well-deserved honor, but one that may slip away if strategic steps aren’t taken to help the state’s dairy farmers expand milk production.
As the governor said in his announcement, “This is one of the best private-sector market opportunities that upstate New York has had in 30, 40 years. I don’t know when we get another one. I really, really don’t.”
Cuomo is right. We may not get another opportunity like this one. Data published by Cornell University faculty show that the yogurt and the dairy industry contributes billions of dollars annually to New York’s economy and creates thousands of jobs, revitalizing upstate economies that are often dependent on agriculture to power prosperity. Every new dairy producing and processing job generates between one and five new jobs in the surrounding communities, one of the highest multipliers in the state.
Yet dairy farmers confront a complex mix of regulatory, labor, market and pricing obstacles that have hindered expansion of the state’s milk production by the estimated 15 percent necessary to meet the new demand. During the same period that New York rose to become the nation’s top yogurt producer, it slipped to fourth place behind Idaho among milk-producing states.
There are growing concerns that if milk production is not increased in a timely fashion, the state’s yogurt manufacturers may obtain milk from out of state or even consider relocating elsewhere.
I commend the response of government officials to these issues thus far, including the Cuomo administration’s proposed changes to the state’s CAFO regulations that would reduce and simplify regulatory burdens on dairy farmers, as well as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s proposed legislation amending the federal milk pricing safety net and raising the floor on the lowest price farmers are paid for their milk.
But more can be done. We must look beyond our Washington and Albany policymakers to creative public-private partnerships. The Grow New York Dairy initiative — a working group sponsored by Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and composed of college faculty, staff, state officials and leading representatives from across the dairy industry — is an example of such a strategic effort, developing innovative strategies that address the variety of challenges hindering growth among the state’s dairy farmers.
Through relationships such as this and other thoughtful and collaborative efforts, New York can implement the measures necessary to ensure not only the economic vitality of our dairy farmers and industry, but the economic well-being of all New Yorkers. As the governor suggests, we must not let this singular opportunity slip through our fingers. We have it within our grasp to continue and augment this momentum.
