Peter Welch: “I want to thank my colleague the Senator from Kansas, and I wanted to join him in drinking a glass of whole milk. My…”

“I want to thank my colleague the Senator from Kansas, and I wanted to join him in drinking a glass of whole milk. My only regret is it is not Vermont milk, but I have got to tell you the best milk is made in Vermont. Thank you very much. As the Senator was saying, this is a very serious thing in two ways. No. 1, we have to have good nutrition for our kids, and the Senator from Kansas has outlined why milk is so good. Of course, I remember growing up and going to grammar school, and I looked forward to milk. We had milk breaks, and it made a difference to pay attention in those afternoon classes and to be active in your sports activities right after that. The second reason is that the dairy farming industry is not so much an industry as it is a way of life, and in Vermont, the hardest working people we have are our dairy farmers. It is a hard, hard job, but it is one where families have done it from generation to generation. There is enormous pride in being custodians of the landscape and caring for the animals and the herd, and in providing nutritious milk for the community. And there is a lot of pressure on our farmers. This whole milk bill is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary contribution that the dairy farmers in the State of Vermont make to the entire State of Vermont and that the dairy farmers in America make to all of America, including, of course, those wonderful dairy farmers in the great State of Kansas.”