Small dairies go under as milk prices sink again

[marmar]

PLAINFIELD, Vt. — The MacLaren brothers are third-generation dairy farmers, but they will likely be the last in their family.

After working all their lives on the hillside farm in Vermont that their grandfather bought in 1939, rising to milk cows at 3 a.m., even in blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, they decided to call it quits, auctioning off their roughly 200 cows and equipment ranging from stalls and hoof trimmers to tractors and steel pails.

The sale marked the end of the last dairy farm in Plainfield — a small town that once had several dozen — and the 14th dairy farm to go out of business in Vermont this year. A few small dairies have opened, but overall, the number of farms continues to drop in a state long known for its milk and cheese. Farmers say they can't make ends meet when milk prices are low and feed and fuel costs keep going up.

"The day of the small farms, I think, is gone," said Steve MacLaren, 54. "A lot of people are going to hold on as long as they can, but we decided not to. Why struggle on it any longer?" ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20120523/US.Food.and.Farm.Dying.Dairies/

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[DainBramaged]

2. I'm STILL paying $3.99 a gallon, when did it go down?

It's been $3.99 for a couple of years around here.


The small dairies are being bunked by the giant dairies to kill off competition, I am positive as chocolate make great milk.

[RebelOne]

6. Here in North Georgia, it averages $2.99 a gallon. n/t

[HopeHoops]

3. PA has state-regulated minimum prices for milk.

I don't find the price to be all that high considering other things we buy. Hell, you can get a gallon of milk for less than a pint of draft "craft" brew.

[msongs]

4. unfortunately for these guys, humans have no need for cows milk at all nt

[cali]

7. uh, humans buy lots of stuff they have no need for.

[yellowcanine]

9. Not so. Ice cream and cheese are necessities. You want to eat breast milk ice cream, be my guest.

[elleng]

5. Dairy policy

http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/dairy/policy.htm

Dairy policy in the United States includes both Federal and State programs. The two major Federal dairy programs are the system of Federal milk marketing orders and the milk price support program. Government programs designed to assist international trade (see DEIP below) and provide domestic and international food aid also affect the dairy industry.

The current purchase program for supporting farm milk prices started with the Agricultural Act of 1949 and has been amended several times since then. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Act) makes a fundamental change in the milk support purchase program by specifying the support prices of purchased manufactured products, not the price of milk. . .

The 2008 Farm Act authorizes continuation of a national milk income loss contract (MILC) program to provide income stabilization for dairy producers. However, program parameters are much more specific. A monthly direct payment is to be made to dairy operations if the monthly Class I price in Boston (Federal Order 1) is less than $16.94 per hundredweight (cwt) (as adjusted to reflect dairy feed costs. . .

Federal milk marketing orders were first authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 and have been modified many times since then. These orders are intended to help establish orderly marketing conditions for the benefit of both milk producers and dairy product consumers. . .

The economic impacts of changes in the dairy price support program and in the MILC program are noteworthy, but in different ways. . .

The 2008 Act specifies fiscal year payment rate and quantities of eligible milk production for three specific periods:

•For October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008, the payment rate is 34 percent of difference between $16.94 per cwt (as adjusted) and the Class I price in the Boston milk marketing order for the applicable month on up to 2.4 million pounds of milk marketings.
•For October 1, 2008-August 31, 2012, the payment rate is 45 percent of difference between $16.94 per cwt (as adjusted) and the Class I price in the Boston milk marketing order for the applicable month on up to 2.985 million pounds of milk marketings.
•Beginning September 1, 2012, the payment rate is 34 percent of difference between $16.94 per cwt (as adjusted) and the Class I price in the Boston milk marketing order for the applicable month on up to 2.4 million pounds of milk marketings.
In addition, the target price is adjusted for feed cost impacts so that it is no longer strictly a fixed price.

[cali]

8. yes, it's a shame but the number of farms in vermont actually grew last year

and value added dairy farming in vermont is doing well- cheese making from a small select herd. Also, organic dairies and dairies that produce high butterfat milk.

[jwirr]

10. Small farms the very thing we should be saving.

[bongbong]

11. Middlemen

The middlemen make probably 80% of the money in dairy. Depending on the state, farmers usually get paid under a dollar a gallon for their product - which is raw milk, filled with cream - so compare their payment to the retail price of half-and-half.

http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2009/08/selling-the-farm