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Dairy Association step closer to statewide policy Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Agri News staff writer
AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa State Dairy Association moved a step closer to statewide policy on dairy issues by crafting draft statements during a meeting last month in Ames.
The draft policy statements will be discussed and voted on by delegates at the organization's annual meeting Feb. 21 in Marshalltown.
The ISDA was chartered in 1876 and performed a variety of functions for dairy producers before going dormant when the mandatory dairy checkoff took effect in the 1970s. When David Kunde, a Delaware County farmer, was elected president of the organization five years ago, he decided to bring the group to life because no organization was speaking for Iowa's dairy producers on public policy.
The association held producer forums in late summer around Iowa to get input from farmers.
"The association felt it needed something to guide legislators in Des Moines and Washington, D.C.,'' said Galen Breuer, a dairy producer from Hull, who co-chairs the policy development committee with Keith Blake, Eldridge. "We wanted a unified voice.''
Coming up with policy that represents the views of all dairy producers is challenging.
"Iowa has two major dairy areas -- east and west,'' Breuer said. "They're 400 miles apart, and the style of dairying is completely different. Northeast Iowa has what I call 'the Wisconsin-style' with many herds of 50 to 60 cows. You go to the western side of the state and you see more operations that are 1,000 to 2,000 cows with large free-stall barns, parlors and lots of hired help. I call that the Western style of dairying.''
The 35 producers who helped developed the group's draft policy statements represent herds ranging from more than 2,000 cows to less than 50.
"We had a broad view represented,'' Breuer said. "It was a real cross section of what you find in the state, and that helped a lot in getting policy put together.''
Breuer said the relocation issue raised strong opinions among some producers.
"We talked about that quite a bit,'' Breuer said. "Some producers feel strongly that the state needs to put as much energy into helping new and existing producers in Iowa as it does in encouraging new farmers to relocate to Iowa from other states and countries.''
The policy statement that will go to delegates is that everyone has a right to dairy in Iowa if they obey all laws, Breuer said.
Breuer milks 50 cows with his wife, Jeanne, and nearby, three new dairies have come up in the past four years. One is a 150-cow single family operation. The other is a 400-cow operation involving several brothers. The third is an investor-owned dairy that recently changed hands. The Breuers are not far from several 2,000-cow dairies that have relocated.
"I see these dairies as positive,'' Breuer said. "I believe my bottom line has improved because these dairies moved here. It has meant more infrastructure. We now have vets and feed people who work primarily with dairy operations. That has helped me.''
The policy development committee took a stand on milk protein concentrates being imported into the country. The policy statement asks that MPC be defined as a dairy product and tariffs imposed.
The policy development committee also supports voluntary, incentive-based environmental programs for producers and asks for adequate funding for education, and technical assistance. |
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