Letter to the Editor
Wisconsin State Farmer Oct. 24, 2003
By: John E. Peck
Executive Director, Family Farm Defenders
Amid much fanfare, Gov. Doyle recently unveiled his “Grow Wisconsin” plan to jumpstart the state’s economy. Unfortunately, within days Doyle was also following the tiresome footsteps of Thompson, earmarking millions in taxpayer subsidies for factory farm expansion while smaller dairy operations go bankrupt in droves. This government collusion with corporate agribusiness to drive family farmers to the brink of extinction must stop.
Under the new Milk Volume Production (MVP) program run by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, factory farms can receive up to $1 million each for herd expansion – and this is on top of all sorts of other subsidies and incentives. On Oct. 1st Kinnard Farms near Lincoln was awarded $150,000 by Doyle to buy 300 more cows, having already gotten a $3,000 Dairy 2020 grant from Thompson in 1998. On Oct. 7th Doyle awarded another $450,000 to Blue Star Farms near Arlington to buy 900 more cows, following a $5,000 Business Employees Skills Training (BEST) grant from McCallum in 2001. With so much taxpayer swill in the public trough, it’s no wonder there are now over a hundred factory farms in Wisconsin, compared to just two a decade ago.
Ironically, given the high mortality and cull rates for animals treated as machines, the only way these factory farms can sustain themselves – let alone expand – is by feeding off the healthier dairy herds of dying family farms. Wisconsin lost over half of its family farmers (16,000+) under the watch of Thompson/McCallum, and evidently this trend is bound to get worse if Doyle has his way. Kraft stole over $1 billion from farmers and consumers alike through blatant rigging of dairy prices at the former Green Bay Cheese Exchange for years without any real penalty, and the state has yet to take any action against so-called “co-ops” who are now bilking their own farmer members through depooling or against processors that are using imported milk protein concentrate (MPC) to make illegal adulterated pseudo “cheese” products.
Wisconsin’s dairy legacy is grounded in high quality milk, yet there is no alternative offered to MVP that would encourage smaller family farmers to stay on the land and adopt sustainable low input production – such as rBGH-free rotational grazing. Grow Wisconsin will remain a cruel joke for the majority of the state’s farmers as long as Doyle continues to funnel taxpayer subsidies into factory farms and the wealthy elites behind them.
