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Panel hears warnings on dairy decline, considers tax credits and pricing fixes
Summary
At a recent meeting of an agriculture commission, members heard that Vermont has lost hundreds of dairy farms and debated policy responses including tax credits, over-order pricing, and conservation funding gaps; staff were asked to compile examples for the next meeting.
At a meeting of the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry commission, members heard that Vermont’s dairy sector is facing mounting pressure and discussed several policy options to support farmers and processors. A committee member said the commission had been largely dormant but is now picking up cadence and reviewing options.
The committee member described participant roles and recent meeting leadership, adding that "Laura talked about the Dairy Business Innovation Center." Members noted the center’s funding model favors a small set of states and excludes some major dairy-producing regions, prompting questions about equity and program access.
Speakers emphasized diverging pressures across the dairy supply chain: processors reported relatively strong export and processing markets, while producers—especially organic dairy farmers—said rising input costs left many "barely hanging on." The committee member cited farm-count declines in Vermont, saying Vermont had "828 dairy farms" in 2016 and that "now we're down to 4 30," and urged more investment in farm infrastructure to prevent further attrition.
Policy options discussed included tax credits like those in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and over-order pricing used in states such as Maine. One farmer participant suggested exploring tourism-related revenue (rooms-and-meals) as a local funding source to support agriculture. Committee members asked staff to collect comparative details on how other states structure tax credits and over-order mechanisms.
The meeting also flagged operational and conservation concerns: a conservation district manager reported that NRCS (the Natural Resources Conservation Service) is no longer funding some engineering work and that there is a shortage of engineers to design manure-storage and waste systems—creating a bottleneck for on-farm improvements.
Members discussed the potential for new large processing plants in neighboring states to draw milk away from local processors through pooling and contracting; participants mentioned recent expansions and plants such as AgriMark, DFA, and other processors moving upstream.
The Chair recessed for lunch after asking that outstanding questions and policy comparisons be brought to the next meeting. Staff were directed to provide examples of state tax-credit programs, over-order arrangements, and the Dairy Business Innovation Center’s structure to inform future deliberations.
The discussion consisted of information-sharing and policy exploration; no formal vote or motion was recorded in the transcript.
