Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee held an informational session to educate Ag Committee members and their staffers on the role that dairy plays in Pennsylvania. Center for Dairy Excellence staff joined Jay Howes from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Tim Moyer from the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board and Justin Risser, a dairy producer from Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, to provide those in attendance with a 90-minute introduction to Pennsylvania’s dairy industry, the role it plays in Pennsylvania’s economy and in rural communities across the commonwealth, and the opportunities and threats that exist for today’s dairy farm owners. This month’s Center for Dairy Excellence column includes an abbreviated version of the comments Justin Risser provided before the Senate Ag Committee. All dairy farm families should consider sharing their story with key leaders in their communities and on the state and national level.

Schedule a visit with your local legislators or reach out to your county commissioners. Tell them what you do on your farm to produce quality products, take good care of your animals, be a good steward of the land and be a vital contributor to the economy. Use Justin’s testimony as a model to build your own talking points about your own dairy business.

Good morning. My name is Justin Risser, and I’m a third-generation dairy farmer from northwest Lancaster County. Dairy farming has always been a part of my life growing up on the dairy which I now co-own. I pursued a college degree to bring back to the farm to help manage the operation well into the 21st Century. Together with my wife, and three other partners and their wives, we operate a 750-cow dairy. Our vision is to be sustainable, profitable, great stewards of everything the Lord provides for us, and to make an impact in the community.

Even though none of our wives are employed by the farm, they provide strong support to the farm by supporting us on the farm. We all value one another and value the life of raising children on the farm. Living on a dairy farm teaches children the importance of responsibility and hard work, dedication, and all about life from the birth of a calf to sometimes the death of a beloved animal. It’s important to note we just don’t raise crops and animals, but family as well.

Meadow Vista is home to 750 milk cows that are sustained on 740 crop acres. The farm markets a truckload daily of high-quality milk, which most of the time goes directly to the Turkey Hill plant in Conestoga, Pennsylvania. The farm is owned by two senior partners, Don and my father, Gerald, and two junior partners, Eric (Don’s son) and myself.

As a producer, it’s exciting to be dairying in the state of Pennsylvania. Increased northeast demand ensures a growing market and large cities of close proximity give us plenty of consumers to try to educate about our farms. Pennsylvania also has great soils for crops and great weather for animals – winters that usually aren’t too cold, summers that usually aren’t too hot or dry.

A certain level of excitement can also be attributed to what we have going at our own farm. Eric and I have a great working relationship and different strengths that complement the farm well. Eric cares for the crops; I care for the animals. Both of us share the love of the business side as well. Our success has come from hiring not good but great employees, and we appreciate that people in the community recognize our hard work and commitment to the land.

I see various opportunities in our industry where advances could make a significant impact. Consumer education is one in particular. Consumers still believe their milk comes from the store, not from an actual cow. There is a big disconnect between the average American and common farm practices. We need to open up our farms and show the consumer that what we do is best for the animals, best for the environment and best for our labor and hired help.

There is also a lot of energy that could be captured on farms if capital was available to put in the systems. As with most projects on the farm, the desire to do the project is there – the finances might not be. While I mentioned us putting in solar panels, collecting the methane from our manure and using it to power a generator to produce electricity is another prime example.

Various threats lurk to inhibit growth in our industry. Shrinking and unpredictable profit margins represent probably our biggest threat, as commodity prices can change weekly, if not daily.

Being a dairyman isn’t easy work and, with low pay and long hours, it’s not a lucrative job to get into. For this reason, we are seeing the average age of dairy farmers increasing. Many farms will need to be transitioned to the next generation or someone non-family who has interest in the farm. Transitions are tough, and a poor job of performing it can put the farm in serious jeopardy.

Animal rights groups constantly are bombarding the media and top officials with ideas about animal agriculture. They have their own agenda, and their ideas aren’t rooted in sound science and best management like dairymen strive to perform. We must look through their testimony and see what can be done ‘on-farm’ while yet keeping our animals content and our farms sustainable. Eliminating animal agriculture should be nobody’s priority.

Being a farm with over 1,300 head of animals ranging in age from birth to mature cows, keeping permits valid, paying our consultants and filing the correct paperwork takes time and financial resources. As I mentioned before, we wish to be great stewards environmentally. However, each new regulation carries a dollar sign that in the end must be paid by the farmer.

I want to thank you for your time today. I hope my testimony shed some light on our industry and the challenges we face on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. It’s a very rewarding occupation, being a dairy farmer. Keeping Pennsylvania’s economy strong and communities vibrant start with agriculture. Keeping America healthy starts with good nutrition, and good nutrition starts with milk. Thank you. PD

PHOTO : Justin Risser provided more information about his operation, Meadow Vista Dairy, during the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin's recent bus tour to Pennsylvania.

Related resources:
• PDPW experiences the history and progression of Pennsylvania's dairy industry
• To bring in a new generation, Meadow Vista Dairy expanded