Proposed federal legislation would give dairy farmers tax credits and savings incentives to keep up with the booming upstate New York yogurt industry.

New York leads the U.S. in production of Greek-style yogurt, which requires three times the amount of milk than regular yogurt. Several firms have already opened or are planning large new Greek-style yogurt plants from Fulton County to Western New York.

To meet the demand of yogurt producers, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said farmers across New York will have to increase production by nearly 1.9 million pounds of milk annually. In the Capital Region alone, there are 63,500 cows and production must go up nearly 200 million pounds.

So Schumer is introducing a bill he has dubbed DAIRY (Dairy Augmentation for Increased Retail in Yogurt products) Act.

One provision would allow a 50 percent bonus depreciation for cows currently in production that one farm buys from another. For example, if a farmer buys $30,000 worth of cows from another farm, he could deduct $15,000.

The measure also would allow farmers to set up tax-preferenced savings accounts they could deposit their earnings into during high-income periods and hold funds tax free until making withdrawals during leaner times.

However, according to The Saratogian, at least one local farmer thinks dairymen should wait for demand to actually go up before expanding their herds.

"I don’t agree with having to increase production ahead of time," said David Wood, owner of Eildon Tweed in Charlton.

"If the milk price goes up, then we will produce more. Right now, a lot of farms are culling their herds because the price of beef is high and the milk price is declining." PD

—From The Saratogian (Click here to read The Saratogian's full article.)