Dairy Farmers of America to Merge with Dairylea in 2014

Dec 30, 2013

Dairy Farmers of America, the United States’ largest marketing cooperative, based in Kansas City, has approved a plan to merge with Dairylea Cooperative Inc, of Syracuse, New York. Dairylea, a regional co-op in Upstate New York has about 2,000 members and markets around 6 billion pounds of milk per annum, while DFA has about 13,000 members and markets upwards of 61 billion pounds of milk per annum.

Although Dairylea is already a member co-op of DFA, the merger would bring together resources and expertise to form one of the largest dairy marketing services in the world. "They have been so closely coordinated that this is going to be a pretty smooth transition," predicted Andrew Novakovic, Ph.D., an agricultural economist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

While many look at this merger as good thing, there are of course, the sceptics. "Not everybody is going to agree with this move," said Mary Fetter, who runs a Wyoming County dairy farm with her husband, Paul. They are DFA members.

"There's going to be unhappy DFA members," Fetter said. "Is it good or bad? Time is going to tell."

Dairylea members will vote on the proposed plan in February.

Video: Early Fall Colors | Scenic Ontario Road Trip!

All adventures must come to an end, but not without one more journey! Join The Wandering Shepherds as we say farewell to our cozy Calabogie cottage and take the scenic road trip home to Ewetopia Farms. Our first stop was a breathtaking hydroelectric generating station, framed by cliffs, rushing water, and brilliant fall leaves that seemed to have changed overnight. From there, we meandered along winding backroads through lakes and hills, soaking in the spectacular autumn scenery. This year, the colors seemed to arrive earlier than usual—perhaps due to the summer’s drought? Whatever the reason, it was an unforgettable display of Ontario’s fall beauty. Finally, our holiday drew to a close as we pulled back into Ewetopia Farms, ready to return to the sheep and our daily vlogs. But this trip reminded us how important it is to pause, explore, and appreciate the simple beauty around us.