[AT] Dairy farming. Dying industry?

[Carl Tatlock]

Grant Brians wrote:
> George, (and replying to Danny's later comment) I would have a different 
> take on the situation. 
I certainly was impressed with Grant's comments on the dairy situation.  
Vermont small farm-dairy farmers are going out of business at an 
alarming rate.  They are now getting a price for milk that is the same 
as it was in 1947.  Too bad all the other costs- labor, feed, fuel 
aren't the same.  Now, also they are beginning to have to depend on 
Mexican labor for help-- and the INS is not making that a very happy 
situation.  Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. 

I know, economists will tell us that this is a natural progression-- the 
visible exercise of an economic truism; If more product can be produced 
cheaper without producing an oversupply, those producers unable to 
compete will go out of business.  Unfortunately for us, this means the 
50-150 cow herd will have to go on the market--and the farm sold to 
developers.  Maybe this is what needs to happen-- the younger generation 
in many cases cannot see why they should work as hard for a huge number 
of hours, in the worst weather, shoveling s**t (to sometimes have it 
shoveled back at them by some pieces of gov't) in order to lose money 
and assume huge debt-- just to get fresh air and sunshine, and be 
"independent".  There is a new 1200 cow automated dairy farm near me 
that has that herd tended by only 11 employees.  Cows are milked 3X a 
day by automated machinery--not a teat is touched by human hands.  All 
computer driven and coordinated, recorded, cow fed automatically the 
correct mixture of feed for that particular animal; calves fed replacer 
at will at a feeding station if the electronic ear tag the animal wears 
says "OK" otherwise the artificial nipple stays empty-- etc. etc.   It 
is an amazing operation to see.  Manure is processed for methane and 
turned into electricity on-site.  But it is the equivalent of about 15 
family farms here-- who are no longer in business. 



Carl in VT