Vermont Dairy

Remarks to the New England Dairy Promotion Delegates Roger Allbee, Vt. Secretary of Agriculture, Foo

Contacts:
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829

Friday, November 19, 2010

The relationship between your organization and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture has been very positive. Gary Wheelock and his staff are very dedicated professionals who have the interest of dairy farmers’ welfare in mind at all times. We have seen this in their work on Farm to School nutritional initiatives and also on the Keep Local Farms marketing efforts. These activities have energized a new generation of consumers.

Some of you know of my interest in the history of Vermont agriculture. They say that you must know the past to appreciate the future, as things are always changing. Vermont, in the early 1800’s, was the sheep capital of the world. Over 150 million merino sheep dotted our landscape. This industry largely disappeared when the tariffs on wool imports were eliminated and the West opened.

As our land in Vermont grows grass well, the cows replaced the sheep and butter and cheese replaced the wool. By 1890 St. Albans Vermont had become the butter production center of the United States. Prizes for the best butter were awarded to Vermonter’s at the world competition in Paris, France. This too did not last as Western competition eroded the pricing advantage that Vermont producers had for their product. Fluid milk to Boston followed, as this product could not be shipped great distances from the West. By the early 1900’s Vermont had 186 creameries and 66 cheese plants. In fact, the first creamery in New England was located in Shelburne, Vermont. Fluid milk to the regional market from Vermont today accounts for over half of our milk production. The Westward movement of milk production, however, continues to erode this pricing advantage under the federal classified pricing system.

Many of the leaders of the past witnessed these changes. For example, in an address to the State Board of Agriculture in 1872, the Rev. G.F. Wright of Bakersfield, Vermont stated, “It is useless to compete with the West on those products that the West can produce cheaper, and that our advantage in Vermont is to produce those products that appeal to the growing consumer markets in the east.” He went on the say in this largely future vision that it is relevant today “only those will prosper who use their minds in studying how to cater to the demands of this growing market and changing the state of things.”

There is a new wave of change among us, and I call it a renaissance of the past – it has impacted a local and regional food revolution. Know your farmer and know your food is all around us as the U.S. food movement is discovering an interest in farms, local food, food culture, and health. We know it is real when we see companies like Wal-Mart looking to double the amount of local food they purchase by 2015, So what Rev. Wright said in 1872 is true today.

I remember well the story of Ocean Spray Cranberry Cooperative. In 1959, at the height of the cranberry season, someone in Washington, D.C. announced that a product that was used for weed control could cause those who consumed cranberries cancer. The market for fresh cranberries was destroyed as product was pulled from retail shelves. Ocean Spray leadership reached out and hired Ed Gelsthorpe, an executive with Colgate-Palmolive and Bristol-Myers. His leadership and vision brought the industry back from the brink of collapse. He knew that Ocean Spray and their members could not survive as commodity producers; they needed an array of diversified products with brand identity that appealed to consumer needs and interests. This change was not easy, but it was successful.

I have been, and continue to be, an ardent supporter of our dairy cooperatives as they are essential to cooperative marketing. My hope for the future, however, is that they will seize the opportunity presented by this renewed interest in local and regional foods. I hope that the dairy cooperatives in the Northeast will join together to find new forms of equity capital that will allow them to do the necessary research and development for these new products that meet consumer needs in this growing market, and that they will develop joint marketing efforts as well. It will not be easy, and there will be those who will say that it is not possible, just as they did when Ed Gelsthorpe came to Ocean Spray Cooperative. It will take bold and engaged leadership and leadership with vision. This is one of my wishes for the future of our dairy industry in Vermont and the Northeast. It is time for change!
 

Gross sales of cheese, ice cream, dips, cream cheese, yogurt, fluid milk and milk powder total about $1.2 billion per year.

Featured Dairy Farmer

Monument Farms

Middlebury, Vermont

Monument produces some of the finest dairy products in the state in a sustainable manner, ensuring that Vermonters have a long-term supply of fresh local milk. 

Read More