The farmer-members of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery in Vermont voted overwhelmingly on Monday to merge with the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America. The St. Albans board recommended the merger in late June, but it needed a two-thirds favorable vote from members to reach final approval. More than 90 percent of farmers in attendance at Monday’s meeting voted for the merger, according to the County Courier, a local outlet.
St. Albans’ leadership has framed the merger as a necessary step to protect its dairy farmers amid low milk prices and the rampant closing of dairies across the country. The DFA has promised to invest $30 million in the smaller co-op’s processing plant and equipment, which the St. Albans leadership has said is sorely needed.
Still, many farmers were skeptical of the merger when it was first announced. Some expressed hesitation even as they planned to vote “yes” at the Monday meeting, according to Vermont Public Radio. “I think we’ve got to vote in yes, ’cause we’re kind of in a bind,” one farmer told the outlet. But “[l]ong range, I’m not so sure.”
Some dairy farmers have raised issues with the DFA over the years, arguing the powerful cooperative has come to act more in the interests of its bank account than its farmer-members. Farmers have brought several lawsuits against the cooperative, alleging that it has colluded to fix milk prices. Some argue that the DFA’s position as both a dairy cooperative and a processor of fluid milk makes it impossible for it to purely represent the interests of dairy farmers and get the highest possible price for their milk.
The 360-member, century-old St. Albans is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the DFA, which counts 13,000 dairy farmers across the country as members. According to the Department of Agriculture, more than 2,700 dairy farms were shuttered in 2018.