farmac’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  I'm a Dairy Farmer in NY trying to survive on an 800 cow farm that's been in my family for 80 years.  If you truly understood this article , you would agree with it.  I stumbled upon this article while searching the web in hopes that the boys in Washington were finally going to help us get a fair milk price. We work our a$$es off.  Weekends , holidays , 70 hour weeks. Look , my father ; who's 67 now , helped his Dad in a livelihood where he planted crops on a few hundred acres and harvested them to feed to cows he bought to make milk. Together , they took fields that didn't produce anything but brush and weeds , half covered in stones , and turned the land into productive soils that in turn could feed hundreds and provide and income for their family. My Dad grew up with half the kids in the neighborhood in his home , as his kind and generous family helped raise many who had little in the 50's , 60's and 70's. As I grew up , I felt compelled to help my father who worked long hours in order to make our farm successful. In 20 years , we've gradually increased the number of cows on our farm because the government has allowed milk handlers to increasingly take advantage of Dairy Farmers , making it necessary for farmers to try and make as much milk as possible in order to make any kind of profit. Today , we are facing a crisis like never seen before. My father , my brother and myself are trying to keep the land we've worked so hard to maintain for generations and it's killing us. We are borrowing over $60,000.00 each month to pay regular monthly expenses , instead of making a profit. So far since Feb. 2009 , we've borrowed over $300,000.00. When you've sacrificed so much of your life , and watched your father work all his life to help make what you have today , it's hard to just walk away like it doesn't matter. 

  For years , the Government has tried to make up for farmers getting taken advantage of through subsidies.  These dollar amounts ; which may seem large , are really quite ineffective when stretched across so many.  When the government finally admits that we need supply management in this country similar to what they have in Canada , consumers will pay less for milk and milk products like cheese , and Dairy Farmers in this country will get a fair price for their milk. NO MORE SUBSIDIES. We don't want a hand-out. We don't want a bail-out. ( example.. GM. ) Just a fair price for our hard work and efforts to conserve America's farm land.  There are some large corporate farms run by investors who are cashing in on subsidies , and others are using them for tax purposes. I hope that the public can be informed of the differences between them and the thousands of legitimate family farms across the U.S. with sincere intentions of producing safe , healthy food for our countries citizens and their children , while trying to make an honest living.  

  Since the gas price explosion last year , the price of everything has gone up. Every consumer has seen it. Milk prices for Farmers have declined at the same time. Rations that cows are fed are carefully balanced for milk production and for the health of the cows. Happy ,healthy cows make milk. Healthy cows need protein and energy that comes from the grains that are added to forages harvested on the farm. These grain prices have skyrocketed due to the inflated gas prices and the diminishing  supply of grain , brought on by the start of ethanol - made from grain/ corn.

  There is a great deal of corruption involved in what's currently going on with milk prices  " on the farm ".  There isn't one single Dairy Farm in the United States that isn't losing money at this unsustainable rate.  When there's no more equity left for farmers to borrow money to keep their farms , that's it. It's obvious that politics is playing an important role in the oppression that Dairy Farmers are facing. Call Tom Vilsack ( the secretary of Agriculture ) (202) 624 -5442  or (515) 281-5211  and ask how many farmers have to loose their homes and family businesses before it's time to help. 

  Oh , as far as methane digesters go , great idea.  The technologies involved in making these units profitable are finally a reality. They eliminate the odor associated with manure , and have the potential to produce enough electricity to offset all electricity used on farms and more. The carbon footprint from cattle ; though small in realistic relative terms in comparison to naturally occurring instances , can be drastically reduced as well.  The problem is , the cost of building a methane digester facility averages around 1.5 million dollars for one needed on an average size family farm of my size. Considering the fact that we aren't making a profit , and are in fact borrowing money to pay bills , we probably won't build one any time soon.  Thank you for your time. And remember :

  No Farms , No Food

  On Why are milk prices plummeting? posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago 10 Responses