Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- The state has environmental concerns about plans by some Mat-Su farmers to dump most of the 1,600 gallons of milk they produce daily onto their properties now that Matanuska Maid Dairy is going out of business.

State veterinarian Bob Gerlach said Wednesday that state officials are discussing alternatives to farmers dumping milk on their fields. Some officials are concerned the milk could contaminate water bodies such as lakes, creeks and rivers, Gerlach said.

Sunday, the four dairy farmers in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough who provided nearly all their product to Mat Maid will be without a steady buyer for their milk. The Anchorage-based dairy on Monday made its last pickup.

The one other dairy in Alaska, Northern Lights Dairy, which supplies Fairbanks and Delta Junction, on Wednesday picked up milk in the borough and plans another pickup Friday. It may not return until Dec. 27 and only sporadically after that, the farmers said.

That leaves Point MacKenzie dairy farmer Wayne Brost with a dilemma. Like those of most dairy farmers, his storage tanks are full after two days. Brost has said he plans to spread the unwanted milk on his fields as fertilizer.

Merlene Baskin, another Point MacKenzie farmer, said she might pour her milk into a manure pit on her property.

"I don't know what else to do with it," she said.

Gerlach said the milk fat and proteins, which contain nitrates, in high enough concentrations could deplete water of oxygen, killing fish and plants. He said the state at this point is only discussing possible alternatives and has not talked to farmers, he said.

Sharmon Stambaugh, manager of the state wastewater discharge program, also stressed the state was simply trying to find the best alternative for disposing of the milk. She knew of no federal or state permit farmers would need in order to spread the milk on their fields.

One possible alternative to dumping milk would be to feed it back to the cattle and other animals such as pigs, Gerlach said. However, he said he did not know how much milk the animals could consume.

Meanwhile, Don McLean, a Valley dentist and a former member of the state Creamery Board that oversees Mat Maid, said he hopes state officials are also talking about options that prevent the milk from going to waste. Those include processing the milk at the Mat Maid plant and donating it to food banks, he said.

Joe Austerman, a state employee who has been running Mat Maid, said that would be difficult. The plant has released most of its employees and shut down most of its equipment.

"For milk to start entering our lines, to go through homogenizers and pasteurizers, that's a step in the opposite direction (than) we're headed right now," he said.

The farmers are hoping the lack of a market for their milk will be temporary and that they will soon be able to sell to a new dairy cooperative starting up near Palmer.

Kyle Beus, a former dairy farmer heading up the cooperative effort, has said he hopes to accept local milk in January to make into cheese. But even then, he does not know how much milk he can take or what he will be able to pay for it. The cooperative does not intend to begin selling products until at least March, he said.

In the meantime, the state Creamery Board on Friday authorized a request to the Legislature for up to $200,000 in financial aid for the four farmers.

Find S.J. Komarnitsky at www.adn.com/contacts/skomarnitsky or 1-907-352-6714.

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