| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 2:09:10 PM
I was just wondering if there are any young Dairy farmers out there. My husband and I are only 30 and dairy farmers. We work the farm ourselves and we truly love what we do. The animals are wonderful, it is a great oppurtunity to teach our son responsibility, but the dairy industry in a whole (the U.S.) is falling rapidly! ALOT of our milk is imported believe it or not. Milk prices are falling quickly, and there seems to be no end in sight. How is everyone weathering this storm?
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| 17 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wende |
Posted - Aug 24 2009 : 10:49:11 AM
Thanks so much Angela. Really appreciate being able to talk to someone who KNOWS what is like but really knows how it feels , too.
I am going to the farm with weekend. So we shall see how things are adding up.
He has been selling old equipement and metal for scrap to pay the feed bill. Running out of junk. LOLOL. Never thought that would happen.
Waiting for the insurance checks to come. It shoud help some.
Thanks again.
Look forward to it.
WENDE
#660
You know your a Farm Girl when... |
| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 8:09:49 PM
Well.Wende, our co-op does not except milk with rbst. So that has never been a factor with us. Actually we treat our cows as "organic" however we are not certified. We do however use VERY minimal antibiotics and we fertilize with organic fish emulsions....I could go on about that but...
The tax on these animals is ridiculous!! I agree with you on that. Dairy farmers are going out right and left here also. We are lucky as we do not have any loans or notes, we waited until we could pay cash for our cows and our farm is a family farm. We graze so feed costs are at a minimum and we are lucky enough to make our own hay and feed. I do not see how farmers are making it that have so many loans and have to buy feed. We are in an extremely rare situation (with no loans) and times are still very tough!
We even have 2 vehicles that are paid for and no mortgage or rent. So essentially our bills are only car and health insurance, utilities and groceries. And STILL money is tight.
It would be almost impossible for me to get a job outside of the farm as it is just my husband and I who run it. We are extremely tired but we love what we do. I have gotten a space at the local farmer's market to try and sell some of my crafts to supplement a little. But with everyone squeezing there dollar as far as it can go, that doesn't help a lot.
Wende, keep your head up, as of now, milk prices aare suppose to rise. I do not know for how long or how much but anything is better than now. I will email you so you have my email address and you can email me anytime to discuss this dairy crisis. I feel your pain:)
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| Wende |
Posted - Aug 22 2009 : 7:05:17 PM
What is more disturbing than the price of milk per hundred is the number of farmers committing suicide !!! There were several in different counties in N.E. Iowa recently. They are third and fourth generation farmers some have the family farm and the banks are calling in notes.
Several large dairies are going out up there due to the banks.
The posilac issue made is difficult too. I did so much research of posilac I just want to scream. They took away our technology. If you really do the research and understand rbst milk is not tainted milk with hormones. I am a tree hugger to the second degree, but when the research made it clear and Monsanto did NOT educate the public then we have all lost.
There are so many different kinds of hormones in the dairy cows and rbst is just one of them. It makes the cows assimilate there grain better and produce more milk. If it were a 'growth" hormone the cows would be the size of a school bus. No this is not what is making our children mature faster, it the the plastic in the microwave as the studies have shown.
The farmers, the backbone of the country, are in great peril.
We are going to be taxed $125 per cow per year for emissions. People that is cow farts ! Pigs are a different amount , etc. How is a farmer suppose to survie?????
We are struggling every week to pay bills. We sell to a co-op that has stripped all of us to almost nothing.
America needs to wake up . Farm Aid is doing nothing for the American farmers like they say they DO ! They only give phone numbers of agencies that just say don't kill yourselves, just keep going it will CHANGE soon. That was over a year ago. Farm Aid is just a concert for Willie and his friends. I used to support it too.
Best wishes to all small and large dairies out there. If you wanna swap notes I could really use more info.
Our bank notes just got called last week. We might not be diary farmers after October. Keep fingers crossed. Our way of life might be over.
Oh yes and 3 weeks ago we lost all of our crops to hail and wind. At least we have insurance, but many of the folks in N.E. Iowa didn't . The girls will have grain and hay for the winter, but it will be a tight winter indeed.
All the best.
WENDE
Part time diary maid in N. E. Iowa
farmgilr #660
You know your a Farm Girl when... |
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Aug 11 2009 : 10:19:52 PM
Hmmm...as I said before and I'll say it again, most of these changes have to be made by us demanding better standards for small farmers (umm, or ACTUAL farms, as opposed to these corporate feed lots and warehouses), and better education of the common man about where his food actually comes from. Most people either don't know or don't care where milk, meat or plant foods come from and are trying to save a buck. It's sort of a vicious cycle, if you ask me :(
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| Singing Tree Farm |
Posted - Aug 11 2009 : 7:31:29 PM
I grew up on a small family dairy farm, where we sold our milk first to Yoplait or Dean's and then to an Amish cheese house. We now only keep two or three milking cows for us. The milk price now is what is was when my family was selling milk. The government is definitly not in favor of small farms, according to recent and proposed legislation. By the way, I'm 36. Is that young anymore? Maybe not, I guess. haha (MY daughter added the haha).
All of creation sings Your praise! |
| Claude09647 |
Posted - Aug 11 2009 : 4:49:33 PM
I know our milk gets shipped some where to make cheese. But as far as where all that goes, i have no idea. I stay out of the business. I don't get involved with the business because its his family's farm and i don't think its any of my business. I just know that it's not doing so well because of the BF and i talking.
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."
http://claude09647.blogspot.com/ |
| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 11 2009 : 4:29:43 PM
Well Claudia, no it doesn't seem as if the gov't cares enough. And to answer your question, we will be forced to eat/drink imported goods. He is trying to pass a country of origin label so then maybe consumers can pick and choose where the products are coming from....but who knows when it will pass. Who do you guys ship your milk with? Do you know where it goes?
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| Claude09647 |
Posted - Aug 11 2009 : 3:42:41 PM
I can feel where you are coming from. My BF and I are Dairy Farmers, Him more so than me, i just play farm, but with milk being so low, the farm is losing 8,000 a month. He runs the Family Dairy farm, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. Obama is worried about the car companies with their failings and giving them millions. Wonder when he is going to start caring about the people that make produce his milk for his daughters... and when the farms go out of business.... what are we going to eat/drink????
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."
http://claude09647.blogspot.com/ |
| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 10 2009 : 10:03:22 AM
WOW Sarah, we could only hope to get 11.00 cwt. We are getting 9.36 cwt and we are getting paid premiums!! Maybe it will have jumped by our next check:) It doesn't cost us that much to produce the cwt because we are rotational grazers, so we only feed chop 2x a day. Keep dreaming of your dairy, it can only get better!
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| simone947 |
Posted - Aug 10 2009 : 08:41:57 AM
i work for a big farm and have my own backyard "farmette" the dairymen i work for sell to Cabot/Agrimark- they also make Mcadam cheese- we are only getting 11 dollars for 100 lbs or milk- it costs us 17 dollars to make 100 lbs of milk. granted this is a big farm model with high inputs- but still if farmers are loosing 3-6 dollars for every hundredweight- how do you justify getting up in the morning to do all that work. I agree we need to end milk importations i think it would be great for the industry if we put greater cleanliness and quality stipulations on milk (cell count, bacteria count, etc)- making milk a better product in the meantime. i can't picture myself doing anything but work with dairy cows, but the dream of owning my own dairy seems to get harder and harder as there isn't a way to make a living at it right now. |
| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 08 2009 : 4:43:11 PM
Yes Zan you are right and further more, imported milk does not have the stipulations that USDA put on us....so you do not know what you are getting. The baby formula poisoning was due to farmers in other countries.
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Aug 08 2009 : 3:35:57 PM
I also would suggest that if you can find a way to sell your milk to other local companies for diversification, that might help. For example--I interviewed a farmer in VT at one point who sold his milk to Cabot Cheese company, which paid much more per gallon, and so many people buy Cabot Cheese. So it might be something to look at.
Farmgirls, I would suggest pressuring your local leaders to tell FDA folks to loosen the crazy noose on milk prices and stop importing milk. I mean, would you want your milk to be weeks old, and from who knows what cows?
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
And *NEW* Blogs:
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Plan to save America the old fashioned way!
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| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 7:30:54 PM
Thanks Kristin, I think I will!
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 5:49:10 PM
Angela, I have dairy goats and have a few customers. I am so thankful I do have my own milk. I can imagine what ya'll are going through as there used to be all kinds of dairies out here around us and they have all sold out. There is only one that I know of now. Most of them have gone to beef cows. But we used to get our milk from one dairy about a mile from here and he hardly made anything off the milk. I think he made more off all us buying milk from him at $2 a gallon than he did from the milk company.
I would love to be able to get liscensed to sell raw goat milk but it would cost a fortune. So I will do it under the table for now.
In the new issue of Acres USA it has several articles on organic dairy farmers, the Lazors, of Butterworks Farm. And also about the framework of biological dairy farming. The top of the front of the mag says "Interview: Behind the Dairy Crisis". You might want to check it out.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| farmallgrl |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 5:35:35 PM
Please, anyone reading this, research your local dairy co-ops and find out what name their milk products are sold under, and try to buy that brand. Most co-ops have an organic shipper too. Please support your local farmers so we are not pushed out over imported goods!
Angela
Farmgirl Sister #337
Instead of telling God how big your problem is....tell your problem how big God is. |
| AlyssaMarie |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 3:44:17 PM
It never ceases to amaze me how little farmers of any kind earn for their hard work! Farmers feed the world and should be among the most respected and well paid careers. I just don't understand why government doesn't get it.
AlyssaMarie @ Link'd Hearts Ranch
|
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 3:32:40 PM
Angela, I am not a dairy farmer by any means, but I've been talking to several dairy farmers and there is truly a horrible situation in the dairy industry that no one in the mainstream seems to know about. The government obviously kept it on the down-low because any rational thinking person would NEVER agree to the .12 to .20 cents per GALLON that farmers are paid. I feel for you. Is there no way to diversify and work a smaller market for your farm?
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
And *NEW* Blogs:
Life: www.wildatheartfarm.blogspot.com
art/dolls: www.wildatheartart.blogspot.com
Plan to save America the old fashioned way!
http://wildatheartfarm.blogspot.com/2009/05/big-project.html |
