Change is Inevitable

Charlie Elrod, NEAFA President


Georg Lichtenberg was an eighteenth-century physicist who has been quoted as saying: “I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better”.  So it has been since your board of directors met in 2021 to hash out an updated strategic plan for NEAFA.  In that two-day retreat and in the ensuing years, we came to recognize that our industry and organization are changing.  In many ways, the dairy industry of the Northeast is thriving, with billions of dollars being committed to additional milk processing capacity across the region.  Cows are producing more milk and components to fuel the expansion of processing.  Despite that growth, there is an ever-growing trend toward consolidation. 

One corollary of that consolidation is that there are fewer farms, feedmills, banks, commodity brokers, seed dealers, etc. making up this thriving dairy industry of the Northeast.  This makes it difficult for member-based organizations such as NEAFA, Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance, New York Farm Bureau and Vermont Feed Dealers to sustain their operations.  We have witnessed this in our shrinking member base.  There are just fewer companies and fewer people representing them to fill out the ranks of our membership.  Despite the efforts of our Membership committee, we have struggled to keep our numbers and their financial support up at sustainable levels.  Those who were there will have surely been aware of the diminished attendance at this year’s annual meeting in February. 

Given that, the NEAFA board has had to make some difficult decisions regarding our annual meeting in February.  We are obligated in our by-laws to hold an annual business meeting to review our financial statements, elect board members and conduct any other business that comes up.  As you know, that can be concluded in an hour or so.  With the declining attendance and the increased cost of holding a stand-alone annual meeting, the NEAFA board has decided to hold our annual business meeting in conjunction with the Herd Health and Nutrition Conference to be held on March 31st at 7:00 am in Syracuse.  More details will follow.  And for those committed to our lobbying efforts, we will be holding a separate New York lobby day on February 11th, 2026. 

We know that many will be disappointed, yet some members may be relieved.  The winter meeting season gets SOOOOOOO long.   In the end, the board felt that this was the best approach for the time being as we work on furthering the aims of our strategic plan to ensure that NEAFA fulfills our mission to “support and grow a sustainable agribusiness industry in the Northeast”.   I hope you’ll read and take to heart the message in Bonnie’s Executive Pen column this month.  She hit the nail on the head.  This organization is all volunteer based.  We hope that you will lend your voice, either by contacting a board member, or joining a committee to make sure your voice is heard.