Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company  
The Boston Globe
March 15, 2002, Friday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A101

LENGTH: 601 words

HEADLINE: WILLIE NELSON;
A DAIRY FARMER'S BEST FRIEND

BYLINE: BY WILLIE NELSON

BODY:
JONATHAN ("JAY") HEALY, THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER, RETIRES TODAY AFTER 30 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE. HE HAS BEEN A VISIONARY AND FIGHTER NOT ONLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS FARMERS, BUT FOR FARMERS AND EATERS ACROSS THE REGION. HEALY IS SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT FAMILY FARMERS ARE THE BACKBONE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES; THAT THEY ARE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF OUR COUNTRY.

As a founder of Farm Aid, a family farm-advocacy organization with its office in Somerville, I can say that family farmers found in ally in Healy. His commitment to fight for family farmers - no matter the odds - has made the difference for Massachusetts.

As I criss-cross the back roads of our great land, I see from my bus window a rural America in distress: abandoned farmhouses, collapsing barns, boarded up Main Street businesses. I listen to farmers from New England to California tell their stories of common struggles; of going into debt, but clinging to the hope that their children will have the opportunity to farm the land their family has farmed for generations.

   In contrast to the rest of the country, Massachusetts is turning things around. While the number of farms nationally has been in steep decline over the last several years, in Massachusetts the number of farms is actually growing. Massachusetts is a state where farmers are making a comeback because they've had an agriculture commissioner who understands the value of family farms to the well being of every citizen.

When New England's dairy farmers faced unprecedented low prices that forced hundreds of dairy farms to close down, Healy played a central role in establishing the New England Dairy Compact - a law that set a minimum milk price paid to area farmers by dairy processors. The compact was instrumental in keeping local dairy farms in business, in addition to preserving open space for all to enjoy.

Healy's vision for economic justice for farmers is now being emulated in national policy - the US Senate's farm bill includes a dairy compact modeled after the New England Compact.

Like any public servant that defends fairness and democracy, Healy pointed out unfair business practices that hurt family farmers and fashioned public policy to change those practices. His opposition to the monopoly control of New England's dairy industry made him a target of powerful agribusiness companies, especially Dallas-based Dean Foods, formerly known as Suiza, that controls 70-75 percent of the supermarket milk business in eastern Massachusetts.

The story of New England's dairy farmers up against corporate consolidation and monopoly control is a story being retold within every other agricultural commodity across the country. From the wheat fields of the northern plains to the corn and cotton belts of the Midwest and South, independent producers of food and fiber are being squeezed out of the market and pushed off the land.

America needs more leaders and dedicated public servants like Healy. Massachusetts citizens have benefited from a strong, local farm economy, vibrant farmers markets, more organic growers, community-supported farms, and preservation of beautiful open space.

Healy's love of farming and friendship with farmers were the keys to his success. We will miss him, and his workboots will be hard to fill.

Massachusetts has had a long line of outstanding agriculture commissioners. If Healy's successor continues his example and picks up where he left off, we will all be well served, farmers and eaters alike.

Singer Willie Nelson is president of Farm Aid Inc.

LOAD-DATE: March 16, 2002