A group of southeast U.S. dairy farmers previously marketing their milk independently have formed the Appalachian Dairy Farmers Cooperative (ADFC) and expect to begin operations on June 1.
The new organization has entered into an agreement with Piedmont Milk Sales LLC, Blountville, Tennessee, to market the cooperative's members’ milk and manage day-to-day business activities, under the direction of the ADFC board of directors.
“This new structure became necessary because of the current imbalance between the milk supply and the demand for milk, which has driven milk prices received by dairy farmers to levels that are below the cost of production,” said Gary MacGibbon, ADFC board president. “Events over the past few months in the dairy industry have shown just how vulnerable dairy farmers are to changing market conditions. While formation of this new cooperative will not improve prices received by dairy farmers for their milk, it will help members of ADFC retain markets for their milk.”
Membership in the cooperative will be offered to dairy farmers who have historically marketed their milk as independent producers through Piedmont Milk Sales. Piedmont Milk Sales provides milk marketing, balancing and quality testing services for more than 100 dairy farmers in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Piedmont is a milk supplier to fluid processor Milkco Inc. in Ashville, North Carolina. In addition to other outlets, milk is marketed locally through Ingles Markets, a leading supermarket chain with operations in six Southeastern states.
The ADFC board is considering offering membership to a few producers whose milk marketing agreements with Dean Foods are being terminated, based on market availability and location of the farms. However, ADFC will limit membership to balance the cooperative's milk supply and current sales volumes, MacGibbon said.
ADFC and Piedmont Milk Sales will hold information sessions in early May throughout Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. Initial meetings will be by invitation and open only to independent producers who currently market milk through Piedmont. Membership agreements will be available at these meetings. 
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Dave Natzke
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