Dairy farmers regroup after drop letter

In February, more than 100 dairy farmers were dropped by Dean Foods. Here’s what happened next. Snyder and more than 100 other dairies in Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, received the letter, dated Feb. 26.“I could have given up four years ago and chose not to. I thought to myself, ‘I haven’t given up yet, but what am I going to do now?’”Snyder, who farms in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, lost her husband, Todd, four years ago. She kept milking her mixed herd of 35 head with the help of her two daughters and several neighbors.After she received the letter, she knew there was nothing she could do except reach out to other markets, so she did.“Every day, I called places. I got a lot of ‘I’m not sure’, but I just kept fighting.” The Center for Dairy Excellence has been working with Snyder and all of the producers and dairy markets to make connections, said Jayne Sebright, executive director. In western Pennsylvania, there are 16 farms that were dropped. Seven found a market and nine are still looking, Sebright said. In Ohio, Scott Higgins, Ohio Dairy Producers Association and the American Dairy Association Mideast chief executive officer, credits the Dean Foods representatives in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, for helping the nearly 10 farmers find a new home for their milk. “They found a home for all of the farms, except for two, which were planning to sell out this summer anyway,” Higgins said.