U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte was on a farm.
Ayotte visited Yeaton Farm in Epsom on Wednesday to learn about the ongoing struggles of New Hampshire dairy farmers. Continued low milk prices, combined with this summer’s drought, have led 19 of New Hampshire’s 120 dairies to close this year alone.
At Yeaton Farm, Ayotte discussed these challenges and called for U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to visit New Hampshire “as soon as possible.”
“Seeing the conditions at Yeaton Dairy Farm only reinforced my concerns,” Ayotte said, “as I know they are consistent with dairy farms across the state, and I urge Secretary Vilsack to come to New Hampshire as soon as possible.”
Stew Yeaton, co-owner of the multi-generation dairy, said he hoped Vilsack would respond to the call, and that he was grateful for Ayotte’s support.
“We are thankful that Senator Ayotte came to our dairy farm to see firsthand the issues our industry is facing, and we are grateful for her continued support of New Hampshire agriculture and her understanding of the need to have a good local food supply,” he said.
Ayotte said she wrote to Vilsack to urge him to move forward with a disaster designation requested by her opponent for her U.S. Senate seat, Gov. Maggie Hassan, to help provide support for New Hampshire’s agricultural community. Numerous New Hampshire counties, including Merrimack County, have received drought disaster declarations this year.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)