Dairy compact could help

Editor:

I read with interest the article in your Oct. 18 issue ( (“Ohio milk producers not convinced compacts work”). Quite frankly, I was stunned by the inaccuracies portrayed in the article.

I am a dairy farmer from Rome in Ashtabula County, and I am very concerned about the increasing difficulty to survive the extreme low prices we receive for our milk, and the challenges we are having in establishing better dairy policy.

This article misrepresented the opinions of the vast majority of dairy farmers in Ohio. In a recent survey conducted by the Ohio Farm Bureau, 651 dairy producers responded and 72.7 percent said the Ohio Farm Bureau should support dairy compacts. The Ohio Farm Bureau’s own survey showed the vast majority of dairy farmers in Ohio support the compact. This article tried to portray the opposite.

The dairy compact works and is the right program for dairy farmers and consumers in our state. It will help to reverse the trend of dairy farm loss in our state and provide a more stable supply of locally produced, fresh milk for our consumers. Plus, the compact will not cost our federal, state or local government a dime.

It’s time for the Ohio Farm Bureau to support the future of Ohio dairy farmers. Let’s support the dairy compact program that has proven to work so well for dairy farmers, processors and consumers.

David Lee Kellogg

Rome, Ohio