Appeal to delay $50M settlement to Northeast dairy farmers

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - An appeal of a financial settlement to be paid by a national dairy marketing cooperative to thousands of Northeast dairy farmers could delay the payments for at least a year.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Vermont approved a $50 million settlement to be paid by Dairy Farmers of America to about 8,860 farms to settle a lawsuit that accused the marketing group of trying to drive down milk prices.

Vermont Public Radio reports (http://bit.ly/29qIkb9 ) a lawyer representing one group of plaintiffs in the case says a small group of farmers are unhappy with the settlement terms and have appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture says word of an appeal comes as many dairy farmers are grappling with low milk prices.