Statement of Melissa Greenbacker, Connecticut Dairy Farmer, at the regular monthly meeting of the Northeast Dairy Compact Commission on August 8, 2001

I’m a young dairy farmer from Connecticut. We have 150 cows milking and about 400 acres. All of those acres are protected under the Connecticut Farm Preservation Act. I am 27 years old. I went to Cornell. I worked on two New York state farms for a short period of time, but I always wanted to come home to Connecticut. I’m very close to my family and I’ve got a lot of pride in our family. Our family still holds the original deed to our original land from the king of England from 1726, so it goes back very far. I would be very proud to keep farming. That’s one of the reasons why I came home. I also enjoy the cows. I like to say that I work with my family but I work for the cows. Because I have to do what they need to produce milk. If I keep doing it right, hopefully they’ll keep on producing milk.

The Compact has really helped us make a living. It’s really discouraging for some young farmers to start farming, particularly when they don’t have a farm such as mine to come home to. The large cost of starting up, the land, it’s all very difficult. The economics aren’t there, but the Compact is one of the areas that has helped give me an optimistic outlook. I tend to look at the glass as half full and I think the Compact will go on. I think a lot of other young farmers may get too discouraged if there isn’t a safety net for them.

The Compact will allow my family to stay in business and make a profit. I don’t mean a big profit, but I do need to eat and to live and wear boots to work. We do need the Compact.

I am very thankful to everyone at this table and in this room and in this industry who helped make the Compact happen. The Compact gives me hope, and I’m very enthusiastic about the future.