New Hampshire dairy farmers get paid $1.00 for a gallon of milk it costs them $1.40 to produce. Since January of this year, the number of dairy farms in the state has dropped from 165 to 155. Industry observers expect New Hampshire will lose another six to 10 farms before the end of the year.

To help media, policymakers and farm agencies better understand the current dairy crisis, the New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture held a Dairy Crisis Briefing in Concord on May 16. The coalition, an informal organization of Extension educators and interested citizens, deals with pertinent and emerging agricultural issues.

Sixty participants heard presentations from a variety of industry experts:

* Extension Farm Management Specialist Mike Sciabarassi described how depressed milk prices affect farm family income.

* Dairy Specialist Michal Lunak talked about consolidations in the dairy industry and how they have impacted milk marketing.

* Bob Wellington, economist with Agri-Mark, Inc., New England's largest milk cooperative, described an innovative proposal called Cooperatives Working Together, a dairy farmer self-assessment program for buying up surplus milk and reducing herd numbers.

* Steve Taylor, NH Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets & Food, and a dairy farmer himself, spoke about the history of milk pricing and efforts among the New England commissioners of agriculture to establish a New England milk branding program that would return a portion of the premiums from sales of the milk to farmers.

* Ron Cotterill, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of Connecticut, discussed an innovative milk pricing plan he's proposed in his home state that would require milk processors to share profits with farmers.

The crisis briefing generated a flurry of state and region-wide media attention and prompted formation of two legislative subcommittees: one to study milk pricing, another to look at providing property tax relief for dairy farm buildings