ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) – With milk prices falling and energy prices rising, Northeast dairy farmers say the future is grim.

“We’re looking at a perfect storm of damage to the family farm,” said Carolyn Orr, who helped bring together farmers for a meeting sponsored by the Northeast States Association for Agricultural Stewardship.

“I’m not sure we could face tougher times,” Orr said.

Milk prices paid to farmers are expected to fall to as low as $1.03 a gallon this spring, a price at which many farms will lose money on each gallon they produce. The declining price is blamed on a glut of milk nationally, much of it coming from huge farms out West.

Farmers are especially hit hard by rising energy prices through higher costs of grain, supplies and trucking.

Federal policies also are worrisome: The Bush administration has proposed a 3-cent assessment or tax on every 100 pounds of milk a farmer produces and an immigration reform bill now before Congress could make it even more difficult for farmers to employ illegal Mexican immigrants now working on many farms around the Northeast.

At Friday’s meeting farmers and policymakers said states in the region should coordinate positions and lobbying efforts on the dairy provisions of the 2007 farm bill.

They also suggested states share with each other what they learn in developing programs — technical and business assistance, nutrition education, “buy local” promotions and the like — that can help farmers around the margins.

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

AP-ES-02-25-06 1133EST

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