California Dairies Await CDFA Decision

Taylor Hillman Cattle, Dairy & Livestock, General

Dairy Crisis
California dairy men and women are awaiting a decision by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Sabrina Hill reports.
Click to Open or Download Audio Report

The CDFA held a milk price hearing on Friday, December 21, to discuss possibly raising all class milk prices for up to six months in an effort to help struggling California dairies. The increase would be in how much the dairies are paid for their milk, not in what consumers pay at the grocery store.
Barbara Martin
Owners from several dairies around the state attended the meeting, including Barbara Martin, who is a third generation dairy farmer and owner of Dairy Goddess. She told the panel she is disappointed in the actions of Secretary Karen Ross and the CDFA, saying she would never expect them to work and not receive a fair wage. She pointed out that California dairies are paid $2 less per hundredweight than the rest of the nation, although California has the highest costs and highest regulations. No word on when a decision will come.
For a link to Martin’s blog containing her testimony, click here.