On a recent episode of the Grazing the Facts podcast, we learned why Ray Hodge with the United Dairy Farmers of Florida is encouraged about the future of the Florida dairy industry.
Hodge said, “I think in Florida, we are unique in many ways. You know, as I said earlier, I’m a seventh generation Floridian. We’ve seen a lot of change. The Florida that we have today, we might all have our concerns with agriculture’s place in the world. But I’m still optimistic because during COVID, people were more concerned with where their food come and the local supply than anything. And we did not do a good job capitalizing, us as the industry, we didn’t. Because honestly, when we were coming out, everybody was wanting to try to make money back again to save their farms. But I do think we’re going to have grown more concern with people, where their local food comes from. “
“And for dairy and for milk, you know, we’re more sensitive to that than I think anybody else because the perishable nature of our milk. Do Floridians want their milk shipped in all the way from an arid state out in the Midwest, you know, 80% water product, all those carbon miles going across and the cost and the lack of maybe freshness there for shelf life? Do they want their milk to come? And we have to admit, from Georgia, Georgia’s always been a part of the Florida scene. You know, milk, we’ve had a dance over the years. But when you look at regionally, Florida and Georgia are well positioned to satisfy the local need for fresh milk. And as we continue to grow, and as more policies at the national level touting the benefits of dairy and milk and whole milk and all dairy products, demand should continue to grow,” said Hodge.
“So that’s exciting, but it’s tough to be around to enjoy that, your fruits of your labor. And we just hope that the inflation costs and input costs can continue to try to ebb downward so that margins can remain healthy for our dairy farmer families.” said Hodge.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.
This is a segment from the Grazing The Facts Podcast where we take a look within the Florida Cattle Industry. To listen to the full interview, search your favorite podcast platform for Grazing The Facts.