Greek Yogurt is obviously the “in” thing these days, offering not only a protein-packed food to New Yorkers and Americans, but also providing an incredible boost in demand for New York’s milk. Within the last five years, yogurt production in New York increased by 60 percent, mostly in Greek yogurt.

Now add in the fact that Greek yogurt requires three times more milk to produce than conventional yogurt, and, consequently, demand for milk is skyrocketing. The New York Farm Bureau estimates that the state’s milk production would need to increase by 15 percent in order to keep up with this demand, or 91,500 more dairy cows will be needed. If you figure that one on-farm job is created for every 50 cows, that’s nearly 1,830 added jobs, not including the additional jobs created in rural communities and at dairy production plants.

The increased demand has given our dairy farmers a great challenge and opportunity, but New York has to be there to support these farmers in the pursuit of becoming the nation’s Greek yogurt capital.

Average milk sales are high right now at $2 billion annually, but New York’s farmers are still hampered by the Chicago dairy market prices, which are fixed incredibly low for all milk, but especially for the grade of milk used in yogurt production. This gives me great concern. With all the extra production and labor required to keep up with demand, will our farmers be compensated for their milk?

First things first, Gov. Cuomo and the legislature need to continually lobby our federal government to reform the dairy market and condense the four milk grades down to two to give our dairy farmers a better price for their yogurt-making milk. The demand for other milk grades is on the decline, and if demand heavily favors yogurt-producing milk, we need to make sure our farmers are getting a fair price.

Other dairy farmers are reluctant to make the switch to prepare their farms for larger-scale milk production. There are costs like building more barns, purchasing more milking equipment, cows and even land. Some feel the debt and loans required to make such an expansion would not be worth the return. If the governor wishes New York to be a Greek yogurt powerhouse, New York needs to address these concerns. The state should establish incentives through our agricultural programs to help offset these looming concerns and help farmers transition their farms into high-production operations.

Additionally, farmers would face challenges related to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulations. The governor and I support raising the CAFO cap from 200 to 300 milking cows to help farmers avoid the great burdens and costs associated with these rules.

Certainly, Greek yogurt’s rise in popularity has put the spotlight on our New York dairy farmers. Maybe the attention it has garnered for this industry will encourage consumers and legislators to push for better policies for our agricultural job creators. An increase in market demand and a better agricultural climate for our dairy farmers would be game changing in our rural communities and economies.