Robin Carnahan: “the Southern Dairy Compact is an issue of tremendous importance to many Missouri farmers. Missouri has been losing its…”

“the Southern Dairy Compact is an issue of tremendous importance to many Missouri farmers. Missouri has been losing its dairy industry. Last year, we lost 171 herds and 5,000 cows. Some estimate this economic loss at up to $40 million. Just over 2,000 class A dairy farms remain in Missouri. To survive, they need milk prices to remain stable. Without assistance from a dairy compact, farms in Missouri are likely to disappear at an even faster rate. Last year, the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation allowing the State to join the Southern Dairy Compact. My late husband, Mel Carnahan, signed the legislation into law. Missouri dairy producers and the Missouri Farm Bureau support this measure as well. I do not agree with critics of dairy compacts, who contend that compacts encourage farmers to overproduce milk. Look at the track record of the Northeast Compact. Last year, only one State in the Northeast Compact, Vermont, saw its production increase. The increase was by 2.8 percent, which is below the national average increase of 3 percent over the same period. Milk production in the other States in the compact actually decreased. Further, there have been practically no surplus dairy products purchased from the Northeast Compact region since the Compact was established. In spite of this, the Northeast Compact has taken aggressive steps to discourage overproduction by providing incentives for farmers not to overproduce.”