Greg Andersen, no one respects your opinion more than me. Every opinion in the debate is crucial to this industry, this nation and believe it or not the world. The U.S.A, innovators of a free market society has over a long period of time misplaced its priorities. U.S. producers can compete vigorously with countries that have the same respect for their consumers, workers, producers and environment. The environmental practices that many of our nations farmers employ either with federal funds or with their own money are extremely costly but a benefit to all our citizens and this nation. Bio digesters, methane projects, recycling and other major farm projects are making improvements to waterways and the air we breath. Many large producers have reduced imports of fertilizer through these uses, further enhancing our goals to make this a better place for our children’s future.
It all costs money. Our regulations come at a price. In the end, producers like Sea Gull Bay and all the others are told they need to produce milk at world market prices. Set market manipulation to the side, that’s a given and we need government to investigate every phase of the industry. To understand the real problem that lies ahead of all dairy producers and all Americans for that matter, you must pretend you are the CEO of a major Global Company. Sit in the shoes of that person for five minutes. (Q) As a CEO what are your goals? (A) To make as much money as I can for the company I lead, to take it higher on earnings, smash the competition when I can and examine how to raise future profits. Remember, CEO’S can be fired, forced to resign or make millions in salary and stock options based on the companies earnings. Which way as a CEO would you prefer?
If I were a CEO of a large Global Dairy Company I would be a lot less concerned with dairy producers in the U.S. and a lot more concerned as to where I could procure inexpensive product that would boost my bottom line, no matter where it came from. I can’t really blame the CEO of these companies or the processors. The law allows them to circumvent what is morally correct. Morally correct would be to use all the milk made in the U.S. first and then balance with imports for countries we recognize as having our quality standards or higher. Morals and big business have not been a strong suit in recent years. The moral compass is broken and without some type of regulations be they by Government or our own industry, every producer in our country is threatened. Our U.S. flag is made in foreign countries, why not American cheese or other “American dairy products”. Get ready!
Understand this, If most people walked in the shoes of a CEO of any large company be it dairy, textiles, steel, widgets and you could boost your companies earnings dramatically by importing inexpensive products from countries that promote indentured servants, no workmen’s compensation, no unemployment insurance, virtually no sanitary standards for consumers, little or no regard for the environment; where would you go buy product the product?
The less milk made in the U.S., the more inexpensive product I can buy as a CEO. As a CEO I would need enough milk for fluid consumption and product lines that require rapid turnover for dating purposes. The rest of it, as long as no one care pay attention, not the consumer, not government, I would import as much as I could. It would make for record profits of my Global Company and remember what my goal is!
Our Government is supposed to be for the people and by the people. As a citizen who paid little attention to why our country has gone astray, I can only say, I am now awake. Now that Global Corporate thinking has infiltrated one of the last possible vestiges of American Agriculture, I see the entire U.S. landscape more clearly. We have become a country for the Global Companies and by the Global Companies. We have lost our way in pursuit of providing the American consumer a cheap product. All the while, U.S. producers, factories, jobs have disappeared across this nation. We have come to the cross roads. Few jobs, greater government assistance, less tax income, American dollars lining the pockets of other countries for oil, dairy products, textiles, you name it, you can buy most anything cheaper in countries that do not adhere to regulations we have for all the right reasons. With our money, these other countries buy our treasury bonds and with each day that passes a little more of the American dream fades away from our children’s hands.
Make no mistake, France, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries that in many instances have surpassed or met our standards are also feeling the effects of back door imports. Many of these countries have some type of govt. protection for their farmers and consumers. Even New Zealand, the country that everyone preaches we need to compete with on the world market, even they have town farms, that produce milk year round that receive a price that is much higher than that sold on the world market! New Zealand makes sure the producers they need for their own country are protected to some extent.
This issue is much larger than just dairy. I believe we are in a fight for the very soul of our nation. How do we fight? We educate our consumers and ourselves. Want an education,visit Milk sucks.com. We need to confront those that portray our producers and product in a bad light. We need to bring our message to consumers that the American dairy producer provides the highest quality, most nutritious product in the world while adhering to regulations that benefit our nation. We need the American consumer to become more aware of the fact that made in America is local and benefits everyone in the country. As an industry, as a nation, we must confront every battle line head on. We will never always agree but we should always remember, we are on the same team. Our ultimate objectives must be for the betterment of our industry, our nation as a whole and raising the bar of many countries around the world, not lowering ours.
I urge every producer to become a sales representative for American Dairy Products. Made in America should mean just that. Convey to your elected officials our industry has no problem with imports, we believe in the free market system, as long as the country of origin plays by our regulations for consumers, workers and the environment. If we adhere to those rules, our industry and our nation can compete and our products will be in demand for all the right reasons.
It is time to wake this country up. It is time to take a stand not just for our industry but the nation. The American consumer can relate to dairy producers, they use dairy products every day. Your story is their story. With unemployment at record levels, incomes down, homes in foreclosure and foreign products on every shelf, the American consumer relates very well with what has transpired in the dairy industry. Your story is the story of this country. Tell it well and we may wake up a sleeping giant, the U.S.A.
Get involved, keep your head up and keep the faith. The future of this industry and this nation is in your hands!
-Dave Rama
