News
Some skim milk being dumped
More milk than the processors can handle has led to some dumping in Vermont. St Albans Co-op Creamery says their 400 farmers have increased production to the point the plant is pulling the cream off then dumping the skim milk into manure pits. Co-op relations manager Tom Gates tells WCAX television getting some value out of the milk is better than getting none.
Agri-Mark Co-op is reportedly doing something similar in Vermont but could not offer an estimate other than “hundreds-of-thousands of gallons”. The co-op says 95 percent of its product is still being utilized.
Both co-ops say they are in no position to offer the excess skim milk to food banks.
There have also been reports of milk being dumped in Canada. The Globe & Mail reported Dairy Farmers of Ontario dumped 800,000 gallons into manure pits. DFO clarified that what was dumped was a byproduct which is normally dried into skim milk powder. DFO says the demand for butter has surged and they do not have the drying capacity to handle the extra left-over liquid. Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia say they may find themselves in the same situation in the near future as production quotas were raised to meet increased demand for cream and butter. The Provincial Department of Agriculture says no milk has been dumped to-date.
Tags: Commodities, Consumer Issues
Seems like we have to go back to the old days of separating cream on the farm. John Kroll, retired dairy farmer.