Buying our food from a local grower or producer has become the ‘trendy’ thing to do. There are many things that would suggest this is the ‘best’ thing for our communities, for our local economy, for our bodies, etc. And logically it just makes sense.
If you are at all connected to current events in Pennsylvania you will know that something has shaken up our PA Dairy Farmers. Don’t get me wrong…being a farmer is a tough life to choose. There are plenty of upsides…but many sacrifices as well.
I grew up on a dairy in Morgantown, PA. I am proud of this and have no regrets. Vacations were something we didn’t do often. And when we did they were usually day trips to visit family. Of course this all revolved around the morning and evening milking schedule. The summer of 1990 my parents pulled strings, called on neighbors for help, and took our family on a road trip to the west coast! This was the first time I ever went to the beach. It was the Pacific Ocean…and I was 16:)
In the last few weeks many PA Dairy Farmers have received letters from the processors that purchase there milk. These letters have given notice that in 90 days there will be no market for their milk. There is a surplus of milk in our country. There is a host of things that play into this and I’m not here with answers. But please be aware that there are many family farmers that are struggling right now. Even those that have not received letters have the worry that they might be next.
Here is a post from the Save PA Dairy Farms Facebook group.
Written by and shared with permission from Jessica Middour:
Our dairy farm has been in the family 204 years. Can you grasp that? It was established 50 years before the civil war and is in operation today. We are drowning but do not want to give up. Think about it. We have made a living through civil wars, world wars, drought, depression, recession, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, imminent domain, family and leadership deaths, fuel price gouging, terrorist attacks on our soil, disease-both human and animal, presidential and legislative changes, technology overhaul, new beverage markets, land development, lack of interested employees, and difficulty in fighting imports with a domestic milk surplus. We overcame all that. Now we are losing to huge retailers, such as Walmart, and consumers are getting milk from all over, not just their home state. Please, stay aware of the family farm crisis. It can only benefit you to do so!
Here is something you can do:
Buy real PA produced dairy products.
How do I know if they are PA produced?
Checkout this cool website: WhereIsMyMilkFrom
You can enter the Dairy Code from all types of dairy products…and it will tell you where it was produced.
If you code begins with the number 42 then it was produced in PA.
The other numbers will give you the exact location.
Of course you could just buy your dairy items from Doorstep Dairy and you would be supporting PA dairies too:)