After nearly two dozen dairy farmers lost major contracts this month, there now could be some hope for the future.
Harrisburg Dairies is taking in five farms affected by dean food’s recent decision to downsize, and we’re told more farms could be added to that list this week.
Dave Smith with the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association is uncertain for the future, but hopeful of a new contract.
“We certainly hope the rest of the dairy farms in the state will find some new markets for their milk, but we don’t know yet,” says Smith.
It’s a billion dollar industry here in Pennsylvania.
“I think it’s important to everybody in Pennsylvania and Lebanon County to be supportive of these dairy farms.”
In recent years milk alternatives have been pushing the classic milk aside.
“I would ask that people be very aware of buying real dairy products and not imitation products,” says Smith.
Smith says this could be cyclic and temporary for dairy farmers that are without a contract today.
“There’s a few here and a few there we are hopeful that things will balance out and we will find a few other markets for their milk.”
After all these cows go beyond Pennsylvania. Our dairy is practically everyone’s dairy.
“It’s very important for us to keep our infrastructure of dairies here in Pennsylvania because there’s a lot of population based to the east of us talking about Baltimore, Philly to New York,” says Smith.
Lebanon County makes the top five county list in PA for dairy production, meanwhile Lancaster is number one in the state.
Source: CBS21
