PRESS RELEASE
PA STATE GRANGE
Date: June 3, 2009
Release: Immediate
Contact: Carl Meiss
RE: PA Grange Member Testifies Before Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board
Harrisburg, PA - In an effort to preserve the "opportunity for an eighth generation to work our farm, if they choose to do so," Matt Espenshade, a seventh generation dairy farmer from Lancaster County, presented testimony today on behalf of the PA State Grange, requesting that the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board "extend the $2.15 over-order premium payment."
Matt works with his father, on their Lancaster County dairy farm which has been in the family since 1867. They milk 80 cows, with a 21,000-pound rolling herd average, and raise their own heifers. They have no hired help to assist in the daily operations of the farm.
Espenshade told the PMMB, "During the past 142 years, our farm has weathered many storms...the Great Depression, a failed attempt at 'going organic,' threats of eminent domain seizure for development. However...at no time have we been as close to a breaking point as we are now." He continued, "In many ways, my farm's current situation is representative of many farms in Lancaster County, and across Pennsylvania."
He explained that, "We estimate our overall costs to be approximately $17.00 per hundredweight," and continued, "In March, we were paid $11.27 per hundredweight of milk. This includes 79 cents worth of premiums and bonuses that we have earned by our efforts to produce a quality product." "Our feed costs per hundredweight stood at $7.93, leaving just $3.34 to pay for every other expense on the farm, a mere 32 cents for every gallon of milk sold."
Matt, who is the President of the Elizabethtown Area Grange #2076, said, "I have many non-farm friends, and we speak often about our jobs and the challenges we face. Many cannot understand how [dairy farmers] can operate for such a small portion of the price of milk on the shelf. I am reminded of these numbers each week when I go to the store and pay more than three dollars for a gallon of milk, my milk, for which I was paid 88 cents."
He told the PMMB that in 2008, his farm paid over $131,000 to purchase feed, compared to $80,000 just five years ago. This is an average increase of $10,000 a year for approximately the same number of cows. The Espenshades have not been able to afford to use fertilizers on their fields for three years thus reducing their forage output.
Matt's wife must work off the farm to supplement the family income and provide for health insurance for the couple and their two young boys. But this then necessitates paying for day care for their children which takes another $11,000 a year chunk from their income.
Mr. Espenshade told the PMMB, "Every successful dairyman will tell you that routine hoof trimming is an essential part of maintaining a healthy herd. Every aspect of milk production is reliant on the mobility of our cows." He went on to say, "We have not been able to afford a hoof trimmer to tend to our cows in almost a year. Now, we are seeing more injuries, laminitis, and other associated problems than ever before." He stressed, "Cows are leaving the herd before their time, and all the money we have invested in raising and maintaining these animals is being lost."
In an effort to become better dairy farmers in the 21st century, both Matt and his wife, who grew up on a Wyoming County dairy farm, received ag-related college degrees, Matt at Penn State and Charlene at VA. Tech. Matt said, "My alma mater has the distinction, besides being a top agricultural institution, of having the highest in-state college tuition. How do you encourage a college graduate, with more than $20,000 of college debt, to return to a farm that would struggle to pay a fair wage? My wife, ten years after graduating, is still paying off college tuition, and that's with off-farm jobs."
Matt stated, "The money you choose to invest in the over-order premium is not just supporting the local farmer, but the businesses they depend on as well. To be honest, the premium you approve today will not spend much time in the pockets of the average farmer."
In asking the PMMB to at least maintain, if not increase, the $2.15 over-order premium for milk sold in Pennsylvania, Espenshade said, "As a seventh generation dairy farmer, in the end, I want only one thing in life: that there be an opportunity for an eighth generation to work our farm, if they choose to do so. The decision you make today will have a direct impact on my family, and other farm families across the state. Thank you for your assistance to dairy farmers in the past and your consideration of the matter before you today."
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