A Wisconsin dairy farmer says domestic problems may be a bigger threat to his industry than Canadian trade policy.
James Juedes, who owns a dairy farm that has been in his family for more than a century, said, “If we would’ve had the foresight to do what Canada did 10-15 years ago, to limit what we had for production, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Instead of focusing on Canada, Juedes is more worried about the American dairy hurting itself by producing more milk than the U.S. can handle.
Meanwhile, President Trump is punishing Canada for tariffs that effectively keep most American milk out of the country.
Juedes said, “The trade policy thing is not the cure all for what’s happening here.”
The American Farm Bureau admits farmers do milk more cows when money is tight, and that causes problems for the market.
However, the group’s president, Zippy Duvall, also says Canadian milk policy is hurting American dairy.
Duvall said, “It does affect our milk prices here in the country.”
Canadians say they don’t need American milk.
The Dairy Farmers of Canada said the country meets its own demand. The group said it is worried Trump’s goal is to wipe out dairy farmers north of the border, saying Wisconsin alone outproduces Canada.
Juedes says Americans can solve the industry problems without pushing milk on Canada. He said, “What we really need to focus on is to get people out there and to drink more milk.”
Making that happen might be tough. U-S. Department of Agriculture data shows milk sales have declined since 2010, and hit a 40-year low in 2016.
Source: graydc.com
