We tweeted this recently, but it bears repeating.Drink your milk. Eat your cheese. Doesn't every mom say that?
Well, now there's another reason, too. Our farmers need our support!
According to the Times Argus article, economic slowdowns worldwide has affected the demand for dairy products. To bring it local, "Farmers that provide milk to Agri-Mark were getting $1.99 a gallon in August 2007, Wellington said. The amount will drop to a $1 a gallon by spring, he said. It costs Vermont farmers roughly $1.55 to produce a gallon of milk."
I'll be serving milk with dinner and sending cheese sandwiches for lunches. (I use the Cabot slices.) I hope you'll support our farmers, too!
Listen - I LOVE CHEESE. I love dairy - period. I use light cream for my coffee and tea. I use salted butter. Good genes, racquetball four times or more per week, a non-smoking lifestyle, moderate alcohol use, and two baby aspirins a day are all that're keeping me alive with all the dairy I eat! I'm also a big supporter of the family farm, and I suppose when all is said and done I'm rooting for America's corporate farms against foreign competition. All this said... I don't "get" farm subsidies. I don't "get" price supports, price ceilings, price floors. I don't ask the government to subsidize me or my business and nor do I want my taxes to be used to subsidize others. Please explain to me why we need to have government involved in the commerce of agriculture in the first place. Thank you!