Plea Made for Patrick to Help Save Dairy Farms

By Hillary Chabot, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Apr. 27–BOSTON — Representatives from Greater Lowell have asked Gov. Deval Patrick for $3.6 in emergency funds to save the state’s remaining 167 dairy farms.

Warren Shaw, owner of Shaw Farm in Dracut, said the money might not even be enough to save local dairy farms, which have been hit hard by rising production costs. The state has lost 20 dairy farms since January.

“This is an absolute need,” Shaw said. “If the governor doesn’t step up here, we can say goodbye to the Massachusetts dairy industry,” Shaw said.

Rep. Dan Bosley, D-North Adams, sent Patrick a letter asking him to file a supplemental budget by next week to address the immediate dairy crisis. Rep. Colleen Garry, D-Dracut, along with many other representatives from the Greater Lowell area, signed on.

But Patrick’s deputy press secretary, Cyndi Roy, cast doubt on the supplemental budget.

“We know dairy farmers are having a difficult time right now, and we are looking at that issue to determine what, if anything, we can do to assist them,” Roy said.

“We are planning on filing a supplemental budget in the next few weeks, but we don’t know if it will include funding for the dairy farmers.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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