Dozens of Maine dairy farmers packed a legislative hearing Wednesday to call for lawmakers to approve higher milk prices set under a state relief program.<\/p>\n
The boosted price levels are sorely needed, particularly after <\/span>higher inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, according to farmers. That came amid historic struggles in Maine\u2019s dairy industry,\u00a0<\/span>which has dwindled<\/a>\u00a0from 4,600 farms in 1954 to less than 150 now on the heels of major closures over the past few years.<\/span><\/p>\n While agriculture committee members signaled support Wednesday for his bill, the budget panel will need to approve the measure from Rep. Bill Pluecker, I-Warren, which\u00a0is\u00a0estimated<\/a>\u00a0to cost about $33.7 million this fiscal year but boost revenue by the same amount. Increasing payouts to farmers will require additional state money, according to the Legislature\u2019s fiscal office.<\/p>\n Lawmakers are being asked to increase the minimum milk production prices\u00a0that are reviewed every three years by the Maine Milk Commission. It affects the\u00a0Dairy Stabilization \u201cTier\u201d Program<\/a>, a relief program for farmers that\u00a0was established in 2004 under former Gov. John Baldacci as a first-in-the-nation effort to help ease price fluctuations.<\/p>\n It provides funding to farmers when the rates they receive from the market fall below the cost of milk production. The current prices range from $23.05 per 100 pounds of milk for the smallest farms in Tier 1 to $20.21 per 100 pounds of milk for the biggest Tier 4 farms that typically have more than 300 cows, said Heath Miller of the Maine Dairy Industry Association, who runs\u00a0Green Valle\u00a0Farm<\/a>\u00a0in Newburgh.<\/p>\n Last year, Maine\u2019s agriculture department and milk commission completed a survey of dairy farmers to capture break-even costs from 2022 and recommend new price levels. The updated rates under the relief program should become $28.90 for Tier 1 and $26.87 for Tier 4, with different rates for mid-sized farms.<\/p>\n \u201cThis might be the most urgent time [for the new prices] because of the huge increase in inflation we had during the pandemic,\u201d Miller said in an interview.<\/p>\n The Maine Milk Commission and the administration of Gov. Janet Mills are officially neutral on Pluecker\u2019s bill to enact the new price levels, but commission and department leaders joined numerous farmers Wednesday in sharing how dairy farms support a broad range of additional businesses and industries in the state.<\/p>\n More than 50 farmers filled the Legislature\u2019s agriculture committee room in the Cross Office Building and an overflow room to follow Wednesday\u2019s hearing. U.S. Sens. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Susan Collins, a Republican,\u00a0<\/span>noted last fall<\/a>\u00a0Maine dairy farmers and creameries provide roughly 4,700 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs while generating about $1.9 billion in economic benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n