Washington, D.C. – In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree urged Secretary Tom Vilsack to respond to the recommendations of the Northeast Dairy Task Force as quickly as possible.

The Task Force was established in response to an announcement by the multinational corporation Danone and its subsidiary Horizon Organic that they would terminate contracts with 89 organic dairy farms in the Northeast, leaving many of the region’s organic farms without a buyer and placing them at risk of closure. The Task Force issued numerous recommendations to improve organic dairy viability in the Northeast, many of which can be directly addressed through USDA support.

“When Danone/Horizon announced their intent to end their contracts with 89 organic dairy farms in the Northeast, 27 organizations came together to create the Northeast Dairy Task Force and provide recommendations to the USDA on ways to help the organic dairy industry. Despite the recent announcement that Danone will be providing further assistance to impacted farmers, the underlying structural threats to organic dairy in the Northeast remain and urgent action is needed,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. 

The letter further requests that Secretary Vilsack respond to the Task Force without delay and to fully utilize existing USDA resources, initiatives, and authorities to implement the Task Force’s recommendations.

In addition to members of the Maine Delegation, the letter was co-signed by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) as well as Representatives Annie Kuster (D-NH-02) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21).

Click HERE to read the lawmakers’ letter to USDA.

+++

The Maine Delegation has strongly advocated for Maine’s dairy farmers. In September 2021, they sent a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack pushing for the department to provide federal support to the 14 Maine organic dairy farms that were notified that their contracts were not renewed by Horizon Organic.