WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), today wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding challenges faced by dairy farmers in Ohio and across the country.
“To bolster our nation’s dairy sector and increase the price of milk received by farmers, I urge you to temporarily increase purchase prices under the Dairy Price Support Program,” Brown wrote in his letter to Vilsack. “I am confident that this will ensure an immediate and vital safety net that will help keep many farmers afloat during this economic downturn.”
In his letter, Brown emphasized the importance of Ohio’s dairy industry to the state’s agricultural economy. He expressed concern over the risk that the loss of domestic dairy farms poses to rural communities as well as to our nation’s growing dependence on foreign imports.
Brown also addressed his previous request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to hold listening sessions in Ohio on the health of our nation’s dairy system.
The full contents of Brown’s letter calling for USDA support can be found in the attachment.
Brown is the first Ohioan to serve on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years.
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