THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF MILK LOST

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 18, 1993                   TAG: 9303180106
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF MILK LOST
Virginia dairy farmers were forced to dump thousands of gallons of milk after tank trucks were unable to push through drifted country roads following Saturday's blizzard.
At least 300,000 pounds, or about 35,000 gallons, of milk was poured out, said G.H. Cain of Roanoke, Virginia division manager for Dairymen Inc., a cooperative. The trucks deliver the milk to processing plants.
Trucks were a couple of hours or a couple of days late or had problems driving to the barns of probably two-thirds of the 320 Dairymen members in his division, extending from Wytheville to Harrisonburg and south to the state line, Cain said.
Although many supermarket supplies of milk were low or depleted, apparently that was caused by heavy demand during the storm rather than by the dumping. Kroger stores were able to restock milk from the company's Westover Dairy at Lynchburg, according to Joann Boone of Kroger.
Zane Phipps, a Mouth of Wilson dairyman, said he expects "a terrible blow" from the loss of milk. He and his twin brother, Lane Phipps, had to pour out about 20,000 pounds produced by their 150 Holsteins when their truck was unable to reach their Grayson County farm Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Phipps said his wife made cottage cheese and the family drank milk, but they couldn't handle the surplus of hundreds of gallons.
Feeding cattle in more than 2 feet of snow and higher drifts was the hardest job, Phipps said. Drifts were too high for four-wheel-drive trucks to travel, he said, and "it was so bad we were immobilized," he said. Rex Halsey, a neighbor of Phipps', drove a big loader to open roads Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Phipps hopes Dairymen Inc. will compensate farmers for their milk loss. But Cain said the co-op board will have to make that decision. Because the co-op is member-owned, farmers will pay one way or another, he said.
About 15 of the 90 dairymen served by Akers Trucking of Rocky Mount had to dump their milk, said Glen Turman, a company official. Many farm tanks contain 1,500 gallons; and large operations where 200 or more cows are milked may have 3,000-gallon tanks.
Turman said six or seven farmers in the Riner-Floyd area, three or four in Franklin County and three in the Lexington-Staunton area had "real big problems" and had to pour out their milk.
Trucks usually pick up milk on alternate days, but some farms have daily service. Two daily milkings leave little surplus capacity in farmers' tanks.
In 25 years of operations, Turman said, he has never seen heavier snow blocking roads for his company's 17 trucks.
Most farmers cleared their barnyard entrances, but the major problem was snow blocking the secondary roads, Cain said. Highway crews had to clear major roads first after the storm.
Plows opened Wythe and Grayson county back roads Tuesday, said Grayson Robinson, whose Greeneville, Tenn., office serves Dairymen Inc. members in far Southwest Virginia.
Smaller 10-wheel tandem trailers were brought to the snowed-in areas because they can get around easier, Robinson said.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB