[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL DAIRY MONTH

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                               speech of

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 2010

  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this 
resolution to support the goals of National Dairy Month. For more than 
70 years now, we have been celebrating the importance of the dairy 
industry to our nation's health, economy, and national security.
  If you were to come visit my home state of Wisconsin and travel 
through my congressional district, you would quickly understand why 
Wisconsin is called ``America's Dairyland.'' Fields of corn, wheat, and 
straw are spotted with the large red barns, silos, and grazing cattle 
that have become the iconic images of dairy farming. It's not uncommon 
to learn that a family has been dairy farming for generations and that 
they hope their children will be able to carry on this tradition and 
way of life.
  If you stop by one of those farms today, you'll hear firsthand just 
how difficult times are. Over the past couple of years, milk prices 
have been too low while the cost of feed and other inputs was too high. 
Our farmers today are really stretched thin, having drawn down so much 
equity in recent times that they're not sure that they'll earn enough 
to pay off their debts.
  More families have been forced to close down their operations, rent 
out their land, and find another line of work. Not only are these 
people losing a way of life and imperiling our long-term ability to 
lead the world in agricultural production, we are also seeing local 
communities struggling to deal with a major shift in their economies.
  This dairy crisis has demonstrated that our confusing and outdated 
subsidies and price supports simply don't provide the level of risk 
management that our farmers need. Major stakeholders in the dairy 
industry have united to put forward serious, creative proposals to 
reform our subsidy programs. We have an opportunity here to not only 
provide a strong safety net for our dairy farmers, but also to lead the 
way in reforming our commodity support programs.
  While National Dairy Month is a great opportunity for families all 
across our country to remember the nutritious value of dairy products 
as a major source of vitamins and minerals, we cannot forget how 
difficult times are for our dairy farmers. Over the months and years to 
come, I look forward to working with my colleagues on a bipartisan 
basis to provide a workable safety net to our farmers, while supporting 
local foods and sustainable agricultural practices.

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