Private-label products sporting the Real California Milk (RCM) seal are of concern to some New York dairy farmers. They worry that the California Milk Advisory Board's (CMAB) aggressive marketing campaign, combined with the lower price of California milk, could hurt their own chances of selling milk.
A Schenectady, New York-based supermarket chain called Price Chopper recently released a private-label butter with the RCM seal, according to a Times Union article by Kristen V. Brown. It is one of several Northeast supermarkets that carry products with the Real California seal.
The article said:
"Competition from California has traditionally been a problem for New York farmers," said Laura Ten Eyck, senior manager of New York projects and outreach for the American Farmland Trust. "Dairy is a particular issue as the western states have recently gotten into it in a very big way."
[Jeff] Wysocki owns Wysocki Farm, a small, 70-cow dairy farm that has been in the family since the 1930s. In the back of his mind, Wysocki said he stresses constantly that California dairy's strong presence in the Northeast will make it hard for New York state dairy farms to stay in business in the future â especially small family farms like his own.
"We just won't be competitive," Wysocki said, referring to California's ability to produce dairy products more cheaply. "We'll be out of business."
The CMAB introduced the RCM seal about five years ago, following the success of the Real California Cheese seal in 1984. As of late 2012, more than 116 processors were using the RCM seal.
Click here to read more about the renovation of the Real California brand.
The CMAB's national advertising budget is about $20 million annually. In contrast, a representative of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, which focuses on dairy promotion in the Northeast, told the Times Union that it does "almost no" advertising. PD
âSummarized by PD staff from cited source
