Pa. dairy farmers have a lot to say about whole milk
During a dairy summit in Cambria County this week, Sherman Allen came prepared with bumper stickers tucked in his shirt pocket.
As U. S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R- Centre, fielded questions during the morning summit to discuss issues facing dairy farmers, Mr. Allen handed him a bumper sticker reading: “Milk 97milk. com 97% Fat Free.”
While 97milk may sound like a bovine- based radio station call sign, it’s a grassroots effort to raise awareness about whole milk, which is standardized with a fat content of 3.25% — about 97% fat- free. In other words, not much higher than 2% milk.
Meanwhile, a separate but parallel effort is underway in the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives to carry items like whole milk and flavored milk in school cafeterias.
The movements are important for the dairy industry in Pennsylvania and nationally. For several years, the dairy industry has been buffeted by low milk prices and shrinking markets. Many farms have become very efficient, producing more milk even as dairy alternatives such as almond, soy and oat are taking up more space in the refrigerator aisle.
In the past, the industry has been known for the famous “Got Milk?” ad campaign driven by the California Milk Processor Board. More recently, the Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence, a
Harrisburg nonprofit that promotes the industry, launched a marketing campaign last year called “Choose PA Dairy: Goodness That Matters.”
Sherry Bunting, a freelance writer based in Lancaster County, said the 97milk effort began in December in Eastern Pennsylvania when a farmer wrapped white plastic around some hay bales and painted “Drink Local Whole Milk 97% Fat Free.”
He put the bales in a pasture near a busy intersection, and word spread through the website and social media, she said, as supporters downloaded art from the site and made their own signs, banners and bumper stickers.
Mr. Allen, who helps run a family farm in Crawford County, said this week that he not only had the bumper stickers produced but also did “the same thing with the 3- by- 4foot banners that I have and the 12- by- 24 magnetic signs on my car.”
Other discussions at the summit earlier this week included a program under the 2018 Farm Bill that authorized the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, which replaces a previous program.
The program is voluntary and essentially gives dairy operations risk management coverage when the margin between the national price of milk and the average cost of feed falls below a certain level.