By GLYNIS HART
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CLAREMONT —Congressional Representative Annie Kuster (D-2nd District) stopped by Ed McGlaflin’s dairy farm Tuesday, soliciting the opinions of local farmers on legislation that could help them.
“We’re looking at coming together with a Farm Bill the House and the Senate can agree on,” said Kuster. “Historically, the Farm Bill has always been bipartisan. I worked on the last one six years ago and it was completely bipartisan. This year it was completely partisan.”
Kuster said if the new bill doesn’t happen by Sept. 30, it’s likely nothing will happen until after the election, in January after new representatives take office. If the new Farm Bill isn’t passed, the old one will continue. “Which is too bad,” she said, “because there are some advantages to the new bill. I do have a problem with the Conservation Title [provision]. They’ve cut $800 million out of that; there’s a lot of farms that will lose a lot of money.”
“Most people who serve on the agricultural committee,” she continued, “are from big-farm Midwestern states. There aren’t many of us talking about farms this size and smaller. I’m trying to stand up for a formula that would stand up for the added costs of smaller farms.”
The McGlaflins have about 475 milking cows right now, not all of which are in production. Although they sell their milk to Cabot, Kuster picked up one of the samples of Cabot cheese provided for the gathering and scrutinized the label: “Made in Vermont.” In response to her question, Julie McGlaflin explained that the cheese has to have a certain percentage of Vermont milk in it to be labeled that way.
Kuster noted that dairy farms continue to struggle and shut down, and asked the farmers present for their ideas.
Steve Taylor, noting he is a “non-dairy” farmer, said, “We have seen in the last year or two, farmers are saying, ‘When is this market cycle going to end?’ There is a real concern from a lending standpoint that a lot of farmers are living off their capital.
“In Yankee, fifty percent of the portfolio is dairy,” said Taylor. “But, what’s good for dairy is generally good for the other parts of agriculture in the Northeast.”
Increasing production of dairy has led to depressed prices. “I started milking in 1971,” said Ed McGlaflin. “I’ve been making more milk every year since I started.”
McGlaflin said the problem isn’t the trade dispute with Canada. “We shouldn’t be telling Canada how to handle their product. If they don’t want to take [our milk], that’s their decision.”
Katherine DeRonde of Agrimark said, “Supply management is a bad word for some people, but I’m going to say it. Unfortunately, we have too much milk.”
Another concern is lack of labor. Noting that the H2A visa program is not available for farmers, “We need comprehensive immigration reform,” said Kuster. “We need a steady supply of people who will work hard. Otherwise, all our food is going to be shipped from far away.”
McGlaflin said it’s just harder to get anyone willing to work on a farm. “The hours are ugly, sometimes the conditions are not the best. Those of us who have done it all our lives don’t think twice about it, but others do.”
As for changes to the Farm Bill, McGlaflin said he needs to know the particulars and declined to comment further.
Kuster offered a few actions she’s taking, or trying to take, to improve the economic conditions for farms, including a study to estimate the impact of higher feed costs and some changes in legislation that would compensate farms in the Northeast for having to ship grain from farther away. The Northern Border Regional Commission was established to support and promote economic growth projects within the northern portions of the four‐state region of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, and Kuster is working to get more New Hampshire counties included.
“There’s a lot going on in Washington,” she said. “The Violence Against Women Act expires soon; the Farm Bill, and we’ve got to keep the government going. But people are waiting until after the election to act.”
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to clarify the composition of the NBRC.
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