[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1674-1675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           RETIREMENT OF HAROLD J. HOWRIGAN OF FAIRFIELD, VT

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to take this 
opportunity to commend a longtime friend and adviser who has spent his 
career in service to Vermont and American agriculture, Harold J. 
Howrigan of Fairfield, VT.
  Harold has served the dairy industry long and well, bringing his 
farmer's ingenuity, common sense and perseverance to his efforts. He 
has served on the St. Albans Co-operative Board of Directors since 1981 
and at the upcoming 2005 Annual Meeting he will be stepping down to 
enjoy time with his family on their home farm in Fairfield.
  Harold, his wife Anne and their sons operate two farms comprised of 
over 500 head of cattle, some 1,800 acres of cropland and forest, 
including a significant maple sugaring operation. Harold and Anne have 
opened their home and the farm to many dairy industry leaders, 
international dignitaries, government officials, co-op customers and, I 
daresay, even a campaign commercial or two along the way. Anyone who 
has had the good fortune to visit the Howrigans enjoys the beautiful 
views and witnesses the hard work and pride that Harold and his family 
take in the stewardship of their farming operations.
  As much as he loves that line of Fairfield hills, Harold has spent 
considerable time away from his farming operation serving his community 
and Vermont agriculture. Locally, Harold is active in the St. Patrick's 
Church and the Franklin County Maple Producers Co-op. On the State 
level, he has served as president of the Green Mountain Dairy Farmers 
Federation of Cooperatives and as a director with both the Vermont 
Maple Sugar Makers Association and the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council.
  Regionally, Harold was the chairperson of the Vermont Northeast 
Interstate Dairy Compact Commission. In fact, Harold's tireless efforts 
were a key force in the establishment and successful implementation of 
the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact. The long-standing relationship 
between Harold and the Cooperative with the Vermont Congressional 
Delegation was critical in the passage of the Northeast Interstate 
Dairy Compact at the national level which provided stability to dairy 
farmer income without adverse effects on consumers. He has also served 
as Chair of the Council of Northeast Farmer Cooperatives.
  In addition to championing the Compact, Harold has been active in 
other national dairy industry organizations serving the interests of 
dairy farmers beyond Vermont on the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and the 
National Milk Producers Federation. As Chair of the National Dairy 
Promotion and Research Board, he was awarded the Richard E. Ling Award 
for the distinguished service in January of 2001.
  The St. Albans Cooperative Creamery was most fortunate to benefit 
from Harold's leadership over his years as Director beginning in 1981, 
and as board president since 1988. In his 24 years with the 
Cooperative, Harold has seen the Cooperative increase in yearly milk 
volume to over a billion pounds, build a partnership with Ben & Jerry's 
ice cream, expand its territory into New York State, acquire the 
Independent Dairymen's Association and develop a strategic relationship 
with Dairy Farmers of America and Dairy Marketing Services.
  Throughout his distinguished career, Harold has remained among my 
most trusted advisers on farm policy. I know that I can always count on 
him to provide the unvarnished truth, based on experience forged on a 
Vermont dairy farm with its tradition of hard work, common sense, 
simplicity, love of family and service to community, state and country. 
I join countless Vermonters and Americans as we all thank Harold for 
his years of service and consider myself fortunate to call him my 
friend.

[[Page 1675]]



                          ____________________