I was asked by the St. Albans Messenger a series of questions that will continue each week until the election on November 6th. This is the fifth question: With both dairy farmers and their vendors struggling after four years of low milk prices, what action, if any, do you think the state should do to assist farmers and other agricultural businesses?

As the grandson to Ray and Gilberte Callan who owned and operated a farm in Fairfield for over 60 years, no one needs to tell me how important dairy is to our way of life. The agricultural industry is a $2.2 billion industry in the state of Vermont and I think it is essential to Franklin County and St. Albans. For the past four years we’ve seen milk prices plummet and our farms have suffered. With companies like the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery and Ben & Jerry’s our community depends on our farmers and their farms.

Currently there are national programs set up that are supposed to help protect farmers when milk prices are low. The consensus I’m hearing is that these programs aren’t working as well as they should be and many farms have or will close. We must protect these farms.