Wisconsin consumers and dairy farmers – all irritated by grocery stores and convenience locations limiting dairy purchases at a time when many farms are dumping milk, have spoken up.
Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmer of Wisconsin, mobilized along with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture to create a site where consumers could report stores still restricting milk and dairy purchases. Vincent tells the Midwest Farm Report’s, Pam Jahnke, that they’ve received more than 350 reports in just a matter of a few days. Vincent says the staff is responding to each report and reaching out to the retail location to get things removed. Vincent said they’re also coordinating that message with the Wisconsin Grocers Association and their 900 locations statewide. Vincent said in fact the WI Grocers are now asking stores to not only take down the signs – but replace them with signs of support! Encouraging customers to buy more Wisconsin dairy products.
Vincent also told Pam Jahnke, Farm Director of the Midwest Farm Report, that the generosity of dairy processors has really been on display too. “Milk saw an 18% increase in sales in the last week,” Vincent says. They’re currently working with 279 food banks to coordinate movement of excess cheese, butter, or any Wisconsin dairy product, to those locations.
Vincent also noted that Sargento Cheese, based in Wisconsin, had donated $2 million in product. Chalet Coop pledged donating 18,000 pound of cheese each week for the next six weeks to the Hunger Task Force. Even the Packers have gotten in on supporting Wisconsin’s dairy farmers. This week they tweeted “Support Wisconsin Dairy Farmers” to their more than 2 million followers.
Yes limiting purchases just makes more families making extra trips to purchase milk cheese butter instead of being able to be safe at home