Iowa State Dairy Association President Meets with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

On Wednesday, August 19, Wayne Dykshorn, President of the Iowa State Dairy Association (ISDA), spoke candidly with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. Vilsack made a stop at the Iowa State Fair as part of his USDA Rural Tour.

“I wanted to speak to Secretary Vilsack about the crisis in the dairy industry,” says Dykshorn, “I am appreciative for what has been done so far but it isn’t enough.”

Dykshorn says the Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) and increasing support prices in butter, powdered milk and cheese have helped but more must be done to aid dairy farmers.

“I’m glad I had the opportunity to reiterate the dire situation that we, dairy farmers, are in,” says Dykshorn.

Earlier this week Dykshorn also had the opportunity to speak with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey. “I encouraged Secretary Northey to hold a commodity summit in the near future so all agriculture groups can work together to grow agriculture in Iowa and throughout the United States and the world,” says Dykshorn. “Secretary Northey seemed very receptive to that idea.”

A recent study by the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers proved that agriculture is crucial to the state of Iowa. It found that farmers and their products directly or indirectly employ 17 percent of Iowa’s workforce which is one out of every six Iowans. Farmers are also responsible for 27 percent of Iowa’s total economy, equaling $72.1 billion.

“Agriculture, including the dairy industry, is extremely important to Iowa and everything possible must be done to ensure that agriculture has a future in Iowa,” says Dykshorn. (source: ISDA news release)