It’s hard to be optimistic with so many fundamentals in disarray — millions are out of work, the stock market gyrates daily and our President and Congress seem incapable of reaching agreement on ways to change our course or to even send a message that stability and hope lie ahead.
In the dairy industry, we see great market opportunity but grapple with how to get out of the policies of the past that hold us back. Whether it’s the economy, jobs or dairy policy, we need leaders who will follow strong principles to get us back on track rather than those who want to simply gain an advantage from the moment.
Yes, I realize there are differing points of view in all of these issues, but the fundamentals for dairy are pretty clear. The role for government should be smaller — at best providing a safety net for farmers in dire circumstances and setting the stage for better risk management by farms and businesses. The intrusion of government in dairy pricing and markets must end for us to be successful in capturing and keeping new markets. These fundamentals should be pretty clear to anyone in the dairy industry. We have multiple policies that were intended to guarantee success, but, sadly, we realize that that is a promise government cannot fulfill.
Clinging to complicated government systems, such as Federal Milk Marketing Orders, to manipulate winners in the marketplace is a losing proposition.