Dairy industry seeks lifeline: Asks federal government to make purchases for food pantries

MADISON, Wis. — The dairy industry has an unprecedented challenge to find markets for milk during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The dairy supply chain is challenged at a level never seen before with hundreds of thousands of restaurants, universities and food service outlets closed or reduced in sales,” said John Umhoefer, Cheese Makers Association executive director.

“The cheese industry has lost a great share of its largest market because nearly one-half of all cheese sold in the U.S. moves through food service channels.”

As the dairy industry works to balance supply with demand, Umhoefer said, “we look to the federal government to immediately begin to purchase dairy products to offer to food pantries and feeding programs to help America’s food insecure families in these challenging times.”

“As we went into 2020, it was going to be the rebound year for dairy after depressed prices for the last three years,” said Tim Trotter, Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative executive director. “But because of the coronavirus we’re seeing a more devastating outcome for dairy farmers.”

It is important that the dairy processors, dairymen and the food chain all work together during the pandemic, Trotter stressed.

“I’m confident we can, but we need government support to get nutrition to people who need it,” he said.

The impact of COVID-19 has resulted in many people losing their jobs.

“Less people have money to buy products they need to sustain life,” Trotter said.

“One in eight households has insufficient food supply, and this is going to get worse,” he predicted. “We feel dairy products can play a vital role, and that’s why we’re asking USDA to work swiftly.”

“With the excessive milk supplies during the last few weeks we’ve lost 25% of our income through the crashed market, and now we are facing the dumping of milk on top of that,” said Gordon Speirs, owner of Shiloh Dairy in Brillion, Wisconsin.

“Dairy farming is a 24/7 responsibility, not a factory that we can just turn off the lights and start up again in three to four weeks when the world gets back online or whatever that date is,” the dairyman stressed.

Trotter has received reports of milk being dumped in regions of the Midwest.

“That’s why we’re putting urgency on the USDA to step in to give us a lifeline,” he said.

However, the situation for the industry is a mixed bag.

“There are plants running full out to keep up with retail demand, which was strong for all dairy products, but has now returned to a more normal pace,” Umhoefer said.

“There are also plants with an emphasis on the food service market that have throttled back to less shifts because they do not have markets for their products.”

There is not a shortage of milk, Umhoefer said.

“We see milk limits in some markets because we have challenges in the transportation and distribution system,” he said. “We had milk moving from Wisconsin as far as Florida, and that kind of effort will continue when we don’t have a plant to get the milk processed.”

The goal is for the USDA to purchase products that would typically go to the food service sector such as cheddar, mozzarella and Italian cheeses, butter and nonfat dry milk.

“These products will help us clear the market and also they are also useful to families in need,” Umhoefer said. “But we have not asked for a particular quantity to be purchased.”

It is very important at this time for all dairymen to be in contact with their processors, Trotter said.

“The only way to find common ground to manage through this is to work together,” he said.

The opportunity to trim milk production by removing animals from the dairy herd is a challenge right now, Speirs said.

“A slaughter plant is shut down in Pennsylvania, and prices are lower for the cull cow market,” he said. “We really need the processing sector to be able to process this fine production so we can get it into the hands of the consumer.”

Speirs is not in favor of placing restrictions on milk production for the long term.

“This is a temporary problem that we need to jump over, and it is going to be ugly for a short period of time,” he said. “Over the last year, our milk supplies have been reasonably well balanced — right now is a unique situation.”