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<p>TUNKHANNOCK TWP. - Local dairy farmers spoke up against unfair milk pricing at a Progressive Agriculture Organization press conference Thursday at Perkin&#8217;s Restaurant &amp; Bakery.</p><p>A recent drop in milk prices as determined by the Pennsylvania Milk Market Board is setting the stage for a very lean and financial troubled 2016 for small dairy farmers.</p><p>Milk prices dropped 25 cents as of Feb. 1, a loss absorbed by local farms whose budgets are nearing the breaking point, said Arden Tewksbury, the manager with Pro-Arg. The price of milk is expected to drop 40 percent in 2016, he said.</p><p>&#8220;What would happen if salaries were cut by 40 percent across the country?&#8221; Tewksbury asked the group of nearly 30 dairy farmers and county commissioners.</p><p>The group replied, &#8220;There would be a revolt.&#8221;</p><p>Pro-Ag is a national group of farmers lobbying for a fair marketing of milk. The group has a local chapter based in Meshoppen.</p><p>Tewksbury provided data showing the cost of operating a dairy farm exceeds what the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board established as a minimum price per gallon.</p><p>Local dairy farmers will be paid $15.50 per hundredweight, or 100 pounds, of produced milk. The national cost of milk production is $23.42 per hundredweight. This has created a loss of $7.92 for every 100 pounds of milk processed, creating a large deficit for dairy farmers.</p><p>In 2015, dairy farmers were paid $17.14 per hundredweight and the cost of production averaged $23.42. In 2014, farmers were paid $24.28 per hundredweight and the production cost was $24.90.</p><p>Tioga County Dairy Farmer Brenda Cochran said her farm&#8217;s losses parallel Tewksbury&#8217;s information.</p><p>Cochran&#8217;s farm, called Pennsylvester, has 200 dairy cows that produce an average of &#8220;20,000 pounds&#8221; of milk annually, she said.</p><p>Cochran and Pro-Ag are asking local farmers to call local and state representatives about the &#8220;unfair pricing formula&#8221; that benefits large dairy farms and is pushing family farms out.</p><p>Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan A. Fritz said he will carry the farmers pricing issues to the state legislature to raise awareness of struggling farms.</p><p>&#8220;We had about 660 farms in the county,&#8221; Fritz said. &#8220;Now we have about 62 farms. We are losing our heritage and way of life.&#8221;</p><p>It should be considered as a matter of national security, Fritz said.</p><p>&#8220;Who wants to drink reconstituted milk from foreign countries?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;That would be scary.&#8221;</p><p>State Rep. Karen Boback and Pat Rogan, a representative from Congressman Louis Barletta&#8217;s office, were both in attendance.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Arden Tewksbury, manager of Progressive Agriculture Organization, talks with dairy farmers at a press conference to discuss the minimum price for gallon drop at Perkin&#8217;s Restaurant &amp; Bakery in Tunkhannock Township Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL021916PROag1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Arden Tewksbury, manager of Progressive Agriculture Organization, talks with dairy farmers at a press conference to discuss the minimum price for gallon drop at Perkin&#8217;s Restaurant &amp; Bakery in Tunkhannock Township Thursday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL021916PROag2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ken Dibbell, of South Berlin, New York, shares information on unfair milk pricing at the Progressive Agriculture Organization press conference Thursday at Perkin&#8217;s Restaurant &amp; Bakery in Tunkhannock Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL021916PROag2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ken Dibbell, of South Berlin, New York, shares information on unfair milk pricing at the Progressive Agriculture Organization press conference Thursday at Perkin&#8217;s Restaurant &amp; Bakery in Tunkhannock Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Progressive Agriculture Organization: Cost of operating dairy farm exceeds minimum price of milk