The dairy farm sector has been the backbone of rural communities throughout the northeastern United States for more than 100 years. Beyond this important heritage, the region’s dairy farms drive economic activity in its rural communities. However, from late 2014 through September of 2020, the farmgate price of milk has been below the cost of production for most dairy farms in the region (Farm Credit East 2020; Karszes et al. 2020). The loss of dairy farms is not only a tragedy for the multigenerational farm families, it is a loss for working landscapes, rural communities, and the economy of the Northeast region. The intersection of the dairy farm financial crisis with the growing urgency to find solutions to the water quality and climate problems provides a unique opportunity to feed two birds out of one hand. Public and private sector collaboration can create pathways for transformation in the dairy farm sector—transformation toward farms that have financial resilience and the ability to help address these crucial environmental problems. Protecting water quality and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions are essential. Production systems that can do this while earning profits will not require ongoing public investments or subsidies to produce these necessary ecosystem services. However, creating the pathways for widespread dairy farm transformation requires significant investment now. Planting the seeds of change today will yield an ongoing stream of economic and environmental benefits into the future. The burden of this transformation cannot be put on the farmers alone. It is in society’s best interest to invest in a healthy dairy farm sector and assist …

中文翻译：

---

协调“一揽子激励措施”以促进乳制品行业的复原力

100 多年来，奶牛场部门一直是美国东北部农村社区的支柱。除了这一重要遗产之外，该地区的奶牛场还推动着农村社区的经济活动。然而，从 2014 年底到 2020 年 9 月，牛奶的农场交货价格一直低于该地区大多数奶牛场的生产成本（Farm Credit East 2020；Karszes 等人，2020）。奶牛场的消失不仅是多代农场家庭的悲剧，也是工作环境、农村社区和东北地区经济的损失。奶牛场金融危机与寻找水质和气候问题解决方案的日益紧迫的交集提供了一个独特的机会，可以用一只手喂养两只鸟。公共和私营部门的合作可以为奶牛场部门的转型创造途径——向具有财务弹性和帮助解决这些关键环境问题的能力的农场转型。保护水质和减少温室气体净排放至关重要。可以在赚取利润​​的同时做到这一点的生产系统不需要持续的公共投资或补贴来生产这些必要的生态系统服务。然而，为广泛的奶牛场转型创造途径现在需要大量投资。今天播下变革的种子，将为未来带来持续的经济和环境效益。不能将这种转变的负担单独放在农民身上。