SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visits The World Dairy Expo and holds a stakeholder townhall in Madison, Wisconsin, October 1, 2019. (Photo: USDA/Flickr)
'Unacceptable': Family Farms, Ag Advocates Hit Back After Sec Perdue Says Small Dairy Farms Destined to Die
"Five years of plunging farm prices, increasing bankruptcies, and climbing suicide rates were not discussed by Perdue. His message to them was basically, stop whining, your demise is inevitable."
Oct 02, 2019
Furious family farmers flamed Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Wednesday after comments he made on the future of the dairy business that cast doubt on the future of small farms during a stop in Wisconsin Tuesday.
"Government is supposed to work for the people, not tell them to go to hell."
--Jim Goodman, National Family Farm Coalition
"In America, the big get bigger and the small go out," said Perdue. "I don't think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability."
The secretary added that in his view the industry was leaving smaller producers behind.
"It's very difficult on an economy of scale with the capital needs and all the environmental regulations and everything else today to survive milking 40, 50, or 60, or even 100 cows," Perdue said.
Perdue made the remarks to reporters at the World Dairy Expo in Madison. The setting, as The Associated Press pointed out, was apt for the secretary's somewhat ruthless comments:
Wisconsin, which touts itself as America's Dairyland on its license plates, has lost 551 dairy farms in 2019 after losing 638 in 2018 and 465 in 2017, according to data from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection. The Legislature's finance committee voted unanimously last month to spend an additional $200,000 to help struggling farmers deal with depression and mental health problems.
"Small farmers were, again, surprised by Agriculture Secretary Perdue's callousness when he casually told them that small farms would probably not survive," Jim Goodman, board president of the National Family Farm Coalition, told Common Dreams. "Five years of plunging farm prices, increasing bankruptcies, and climbing suicide rates were not discussed by Perdue. His message to them was basically, stop whining, your demise is inevitable."
Farmers at Wisconsin event said they felt slighted by Perdue's comments.
"What I heard today from the secretary of agriculture is there's no place for me," said fifth-generation farmer Jerry Volenec. "Can I get some support from my state and federal government? I feel like we're a benefit to society."
At Esquire, Charlie Pierce wrote that Perdue was telling a truth that is seldom uttered:
It takes a rare fella to say so plainly that America is essentially a monopoly culture, and that the ultimate goal of a free market is to achieve the absolute minimal amount of actual competition--especially to an audience of people whose livelihoods are being destroyed by those very dynamics.
Farming advocates pushed back on what they saw as Perdue's claim that Big Ag is unstoppable.
"There is NOTHING inevitable about factory farms," tweeted land organizer Johanna Rupprecht. "There is NOTHING inevitable about the big getting bigger and the small getting pushed out. These things have happened because policy choices have been made that not just allowed but heavily subsidized and promoted them."
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) called Perdue's comments "unacceptable."
"Farms aren't just businesses, Mr. Secretary," Craig said. "These are farm families and ways of life. I'll continue to stand with my farmers every step of the way."
The National Family Farm Coalition's Goodman said he doubts Perdue understands the role of the federal government, despite being a part of it.
"He doesn't get it," said Goodman. "Government is supposed to work for the people, not tell them to go to hell."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Furious family farmers flamed Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Wednesday after comments he made on the future of the dairy business that cast doubt on the future of small farms during a stop in Wisconsin Tuesday.
"Government is supposed to work for the people, not tell them to go to hell."
--Jim Goodman, National Family Farm Coalition
"In America, the big get bigger and the small go out," said Perdue. "I don't think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability."
The secretary added that in his view the industry was leaving smaller producers behind.
"It's very difficult on an economy of scale with the capital needs and all the environmental regulations and everything else today to survive milking 40, 50, or 60, or even 100 cows," Perdue said.
Perdue made the remarks to reporters at the World Dairy Expo in Madison. The setting, as The Associated Press pointed out, was apt for the secretary's somewhat ruthless comments:
Wisconsin, which touts itself as America's Dairyland on its license plates, has lost 551 dairy farms in 2019 after losing 638 in 2018 and 465 in 2017, according to data from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection. The Legislature's finance committee voted unanimously last month to spend an additional $200,000 to help struggling farmers deal with depression and mental health problems.
"Small farmers were, again, surprised by Agriculture Secretary Perdue's callousness when he casually told them that small farms would probably not survive," Jim Goodman, board president of the National Family Farm Coalition, told Common Dreams. "Five years of plunging farm prices, increasing bankruptcies, and climbing suicide rates were not discussed by Perdue. His message to them was basically, stop whining, your demise is inevitable."
Farmers at Wisconsin event said they felt slighted by Perdue's comments.
"What I heard today from the secretary of agriculture is there's no place for me," said fifth-generation farmer Jerry Volenec. "Can I get some support from my state and federal government? I feel like we're a benefit to society."
At Esquire, Charlie Pierce wrote that Perdue was telling a truth that is seldom uttered:
It takes a rare fella to say so plainly that America is essentially a monopoly culture, and that the ultimate goal of a free market is to achieve the absolute minimal amount of actual competition--especially to an audience of people whose livelihoods are being destroyed by those very dynamics.
Farming advocates pushed back on what they saw as Perdue's claim that Big Ag is unstoppable.
"There is NOTHING inevitable about factory farms," tweeted land organizer Johanna Rupprecht. "There is NOTHING inevitable about the big getting bigger and the small getting pushed out. These things have happened because policy choices have been made that not just allowed but heavily subsidized and promoted them."
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) called Perdue's comments "unacceptable."
"Farms aren't just businesses, Mr. Secretary," Craig said. "These are farm families and ways of life. I'll continue to stand with my farmers every step of the way."
The National Family Farm Coalition's Goodman said he doubts Perdue understands the role of the federal government, despite being a part of it.
"He doesn't get it," said Goodman. "Government is supposed to work for the people, not tell them to go to hell."
Furious family farmers flamed Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Wednesday after comments he made on the future of the dairy business that cast doubt on the future of small farms during a stop in Wisconsin Tuesday.
"Government is supposed to work for the people, not tell them to go to hell."
--Jim Goodman, National Family Farm Coalition
"In America, the big get bigger and the small go out," said Perdue. "I don't think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability."
The secretary added that in his view the industry was leaving smaller producers behind.
"It's very difficult on an economy of scale with the capital needs and all the environmental regulations and everything else today to survive milking 40, 50, or 60, or even 100 cows," Perdue said.
Perdue made the remarks to reporters at the World Dairy Expo in Madison. The setting, as The Associated Press pointed out, was apt for the secretary's somewhat ruthless comments:
Wisconsin, which touts itself as America's Dairyland on its license plates, has lost 551 dairy farms in 2019 after losing 638 in 2018 and 465 in 2017, according to data from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection. The Legislature's finance committee voted unanimously last month to spend an additional $200,000 to help struggling farmers deal with depression and mental health problems.
"Small farmers were, again, surprised by Agriculture Secretary Perdue's callousness when he casually told them that small farms would probably not survive," Jim Goodman, board president of the National Family Farm Coalition, told Common Dreams. "Five years of plunging farm prices, increasing bankruptcies, and climbing suicide rates were not discussed by Perdue. His message to them was basically, stop whining, your demise is inevitable."
Farmers at Wisconsin event said they felt slighted by Perdue's comments.
"What I heard today from the secretary of agriculture is there's no place for me," said fifth-generation farmer Jerry Volenec. "Can I get some support from my state and federal government? I feel like we're a benefit to society."
At Esquire, Charlie Pierce wrote that Perdue was telling a truth that is seldom uttered:
It takes a rare fella to say so plainly that America is essentially a monopoly culture, and that the ultimate goal of a free market is to achieve the absolute minimal amount of actual competition--especially to an audience of people whose livelihoods are being destroyed by those very dynamics.
Farming advocates pushed back on what they saw as Perdue's claim that Big Ag is unstoppable.
"There is NOTHING inevitable about factory farms," tweeted land organizer Johanna Rupprecht. "There is NOTHING inevitable about the big getting bigger and the small getting pushed out. These things have happened because policy choices have been made that not just allowed but heavily subsidized and promoted them."
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) called Perdue's comments "unacceptable."
"Farms aren't just businesses, Mr. Secretary," Craig said. "These are farm families and ways of life. I'll continue to stand with my farmers every step of the way."
The National Family Farm Coalition's Goodman said he doubts Perdue understands the role of the federal government, despite being a part of it.
"He doesn't get it," said Goodman. "Government is supposed to work for the people, not tell them to go to hell."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.