WUD urges implementation of new round of herd retirement

Western United Dairymen is urging implementation of a new round of herd retirement as part of the CWT program. In a letter to Jerry Kozak, CEO of National Milk Producers Federation, WUD says that California diary families are “in dire straits” and that immediate action by the CWT board is necessary to “relieve the extreme economic stress that the U.S. diary industry is now facing.”
“Dairy producers in California are struggling mightily with extremely negative margins,” wrote CEO Michael Marsh. Noting CDFA’s recent decision to implement a Class 4a and Class 4b hearing decision that “drastically slashed producers’ prices,” Marsh said that “our dairy producers are reaching the limits of their resources. Equity is diminishing and farm sales are becoming a more attractive option to many. The state’s producer infrastructure is in peril.”
Herd retirement was a feature of the first two rounds of the CWT program, but it was not included in the current version. “We ask that National Milk and the CWT board immediately initiate action to relieve the extreme economic stress that the U.S. dairy industry is now facing,” urged Marsh.