By Lori Robertson
...A consolidation trend (click here) - of fewer but bigger dairy farms — has been happening “for quite some time now,” Chad Hart, a professor of economics and crop markets specialist at Iowa State University, told us in a phone interview. A decline in the number of producers continued under the Trump administration, he said.
It’s true that dairy farmers generally applauded the new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which went into effect on July 1, but Trump claimed “our dairy exports to Canada are expected to surge by at least 100%.” We found no support for that figure, and the president’s campaign didn’t respond to our query.
The International Trade Commission estimated dairy exports to Canada would increase by 43.8%, while dairy imports from Canada would go up 139.5% under the agreement, which would take six years to largely implement. The ITC described the overall impact as “small.”
Trump made his claims in an Oct. 27 rally in West Salem, Wisconsin....
Percentages can be deceiving. In 2016 the USA exported nearly four times more than was imported from Canada. To understand the percentages it must be realized that the USA was already exporting a far greater amount of milk to Canada. So, percentages can be deceiving.
There are basically five USA states that produce 64 percent of the milk. Milk production is an expensive business. From the utter of the cow to the bottle on the table, the entire pipeline is sterile and closed. So, in order to increase the competition the USA federal government needs to invest in more start up farms that can be equipped with "the pipeline." Setting up the dairy pipeline is the most challenging aspect of the operation. It is expensive to build and expensive to maintain. It is difficult for small producers to do the job.
HOWEVER.
There are small farms still in existence such as "Moomers" in Traverse City (click here), Michigan. I am quite confident they are not alone in the USA. Moomers prides itself on it's ice cream. It sells it throughout the area. Very successfully, too. It is smaller operations like this that the federal government should encourage to produce more milk for use in baby formula.
Like any other product in a capitalist economy, the shrinkage of competition under Republican leadership has cost the consumer dearly. Now, our very vulnerable Americans are at risk. This cannot be tolerated and it is up to Congress to address this issue and now.
The US House and Senate needs to take recommendations from the smaller dairies to help them to compete and produce to help the country move out of a baby formula scarcity. This is just not acceptable. The Congress needs to address the use of milk in the USA while exploring the balance of trade with Canada. It is not a problem that can be fixed overnight, but, it needs to be expedited to avoid any problems.
I remind. This is a Congress that defeated the codification of Roe v. Wade and if they don't act to increase the production of baby formula it will be all too obvious this is nothing but politics rather than a sincere concern for the country.
State legislators should explore the possibilities of promoting smaller dairies to help with a more abundant supply.
Sixty hours of investigation is a good start. I think a healthy debate between GMO and Non-GMO would be of interest to most any consumer
April 15, 2022By Christina Szalinski
We recommend Costco’s Kirkland Signature ProCare Non-GMO Infant Formula, Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark Infant, and Target’s Up & Up Advantage Infant Formula, all generic options that are just as nutritious as brand-name versions, but much less expensive. We also recommend the generic Parent’s Choice Tender Infant Formula (the least expensive true “gentle” formula we’ve found) and Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula (an affordable organic formula). And we have information about an FDA-regulated “European-style” formula, as well as what to know about so-called toddler formula for older babies (hint: medical experts say it’s unnecessary)....
