NORWICH – At the urging of a South New Berlin dairy farmer, a group of county leaders are prepared to support a senate bill designed to reform dairy pricing across the United States.

“These farms are all in jeopardy,” dairyman Ken Dibbell told members of the county’s Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds committee last Tuesday as he urged them to take action in support of Chenango’s struggling dairy farmers.

Dibbell, known as “Mr. Milk” for his efforts to advocate for the dairy industry, was at the meeting to garner support for the Spector-Casey Bill, s.1645. The legislation, aimed at addressing the disparity between the cost of milk production and farm gate milk prices, was introduced more than a year ago by Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey.

According to Dibbell, the bill is the only piece of legislation currently proposed which addresses both how milk prices are determined and the cost of production. Others, he explained, pointing to the Dairy Price Stabilization Program as an example, only address the first part of this equation

“All it does is stabilize the price; it doesn’t address the cost,” Dibbell said. “Until we address cost, we haven’t addressed anything.”

Dibbell urged the committee to take the first step in showing support for the bill, by weighing in on a poll being conducted by Progressive Dairyman magazine.