As their industry faces its worst crisis in decades, the nation’s dairy farmers appear to be finally setting aside their regional disputes. More than 500 people attended a Dairy Workshop, convened by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Justice, on Friday at the Memorial Union of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Dairy farmers from around the country put on a unified, during a forum with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney. California dairy farmer Joaquin Contente said prices per hundredweight are the worst in decades. “The average price for 2009 in the United States was around $12.80. In my area it was a lot lower than that. We all needed at least $18,” Contente said during a panel discussion.
