Things should never get this bad !

[Willl]

Regards the farmer, and the cows.....
One really doesn't know if it had to do with farming at all. It could have been a bad relationship with his wife and he wasn't going to leave her with cows to care for (or to be able to sell) after he was gone. Just never know.

Thinking the same, ain't nothing worth taken your life for.

Had to be some serous mental problems, betting it would of happened anyway regardless of the economy.

I feel for the family's loss, they're the victims here.

 

[RichZ]

Although this is an extreme example, it's hard for those who do not farm to understand the stress that farmers, especially dairy farmers, are under in today's economy. It costs, on the average $17/hundred weight (100 lbs of milk) to produce milk, yet in the past few months, the price many dairy farmers get for their milk has dropped to as low as $9/hundredweight.

Many people might say that they should get out of farming, but that's not an easy answer. Most farmers have 100's of thousands of dollars, or much more wrapped up in their farm, and there's no way they'd recover much of that if they left farming. On top of that, farming is not a job, it's a lifestyle and a mindset. Most dairy farmers cannot even envision doing anything else. And many are the last of several generations of dairy farmers.

I live in a dairy farming community, many of my friends and neighbors are dairy farmers. I have a related farm, mine is a goat dairy. I know the stress of dairy farmers, though most people cannot even come close to imagining it.

 

[jinman]

I live in a dairy farming community, many of my friends and neighbors are dairy farmers. I have a related farm, mine is a goat dairy. I know the stress of dairy farmers, though most people cannot even come close to imagining it.

Rich, I don't personally have a clue as to the stress of dairy farming, but I once dated a girl whose father was a dairy farmer in Oklahoma. She said there was no way he could get away from the farm. If family members wanted to see him, they had to go there. Even though he made a good living at the time, he was completely consumed by keeping the dairy going.

After awhile, I would think your whole life becomes that dairy and all your daily tasks. If you are working as hard as you can and still failing, it must be an overwhelming load to bear. This poor dairy farmer must have felt isolated and hopeless. He surely knew how it would look to others and that's why he left the note on the door to contact the sherriff. As the title of this thread states, it should never get this bad. It's too late for this farmer, very very sad.

 

[turbo36]

Thinking the same, ain't nothing worth taken your life for.

Had to be some serous mental problems, betting it would of happened anyway regardless of the economy.

I feel for the family's loss, they're the victims here.

This is the typical reaction from someone who has never suffered depression or owned a struggling business. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and then you can give a more informed opinion.

 

[RichZ]

Jim, I'm not a lifelong farmer, I've only had my farm for 10 years, and I made a very concious and informed decision that it would be my life. As you said, I can't leave the farm. I have to milk twice/day, every day, whether I feel like it or not, if I'm sick or if I'm well. And I have to take care of my animals every day, no matter what. There are no breaks, there are no vacations.

But...believe it or not, I like that. I HATE to travel, I saw most of the USA when I was much younger, and have no desire to see other countries (with the exception of Canada, which is not far from my farm, so I can easily make Canada day trips). Some members of my wife's and my families think we're nuts, others realize we're pursuing our dream, which we are.

HOWEVER, this economy changed everything. I had planned on retiring from my regular job this year, to be a full time farmer, and that just isn't going to happen. Two years ago the cheesemaker we were selling our milk to hit hard times. They stopped buying our milk, and it took us 18 months to get a market again. In that time we had to sell off much of our herd. We now have a market again, in fact several cheese makers want our milk. The temptation is to expand greatly and quickly, but I'm resisting that and taking it slow. We're nowhere near where we were two years ago, but we hope to get there again and beyond. My wife quit her job to run the farm full time 5 years ago, and now with much less money coming from the farm, and without her salary, we're hurting. We've invested our entire life savings in our farm. But we're no where near in as bad a shape as our cow dairy friends.

People warned me about becoming a farmer, and I went into it with my eyes wide open. BUT it's still many times harder than I ever imagined. I don't regret doing it, but I never imagined that I'd spend much of my time scared about the future, and I sure do get very scared.

So, I understand what a third or fourth generation cow dairy farmer must be going through. I have had several of my friends get out of farming. One was a fourth generation dairy farmer, who is a close friend. When he and his wife told us that they were getting out of farming, the 4 of us cried, for a long time. It was like a family member died. I know if I had to totally get out of farming, it would probably kill me, and I've only had 10 years of my life invested in it, but it has been a lifelong dream to me and my wife.

I think most people would have a very hard time understanding this. Most dairy farmers are losing money, big time, right now, and are desperately trying to just hang on, and not lose everything.

 

[Duffster]

As you said, I can't leave the farm. I have to milk twice/day, every day, whether I feel like it or not, if I'm sick or if I'm well. And I have to take care of my animals every day, no matter what. There are no breaks, there are no vacations.

Is there any reason for this?

Or is it your decision not to take a day off?

 

[aczlan]

As you said, I can't leave the farm. I have to milk twice/day, every day, whether I feel like it or not, if I'm sick or if I'm well. And I have to take care of my animals every day, no matter what. There are no breaks, there are no vacations.

Is there any reason for this?
Or is it your decision not to take a day off?

If you are milking animals (cows, goats, etc) and you miss a milking they are not only extremely uncomfortable (due to them having an udder full of milk) but they can develop mastitis and other problems with their udders. Thus, you cannot take a day off or miss a milking unless you have someone who can fill in for you and if you are a 1-3 person operation you have to find outside help who you can trust that knows how to do the milking and such.

Aaron Z

 

[Duffster]

If you are milking animals (cows, goats, etc) and you miss a milking they are not only extremely uncomfortable (due to them having an udder full of milk) but they can develop mastitis and other problems with their udders. Thus, you cannot take a day off or miss a milking unless you have someone who can fill in for you and if you are a 1-3 person operation you have to find outside help who you can trust that knows how to do the milking and such.

Aaron Z

Thank you, I should have prefaced that I grew up on a dairy farm.

 

[riptides]

I am sitting on an old dairy farm now. I have gutted it, and cleaned it out of all the old equipment. The only thing left are some pipes, electric lines and the old milking tubs, vats, chillers. In a few months they will be gone too.

The only thing the place is good for peace-of-mind living. No way I see to upgrade that equipment and make a living at it. Too bad.

 

[20 20]

Sad story. You have to wonder about a country that won't pay farmers but throws money at bankers. The head of our home town bank makes over a million a year!

Chris

To add to this what about a country that craps on it's own "food raisers/farmers" then imports food from over sea's?

 

[20 20]

Although this is an extreme example, it's hard for those who do not farm to understand the stress that farmers, especially dairy farmers, are under in today's economy. It costs, on the average $17/hundred weight (100 lbs of milk) to produce milk, yet in the past few months, the price many dairy farmers get for their milk has dropped to as low as $9/hundredweight.

Many people might say that they should get out of farming, but that's not an easy answer. Most farmers have 100's of thousands of dollars, or much more wrapped up in their farm, and there's no way they'd recover much of that if they left farming. On top of that, farming is not a job, it's a lifestyle and a mindset. Most dairy farmers cannot even envision doing anything else. And many are the last of several generations of dairy farmers.

I live in a dairy farming community, many of my friends and neighbors are dairy farmers. I have a related farm, mine is a goat dairy. I know the stress of dairy farmers, though most people cannot even come close to imagining it.

Very well said, I would have loved to own my own farm, worked on others. I decided financially it would be a complete loss.

 

[rockinmywaypa]

I feel for that guy and lots of others. I know what it's like to go from having decent equity to knowing that the only real way of getting out of a mess is life insurance. Yet we plod on and hope for a better tomorrow and maybe the market will go up or maybe the gov'mint will change their policy or some other miracle will happen and everything will be good again or we will just keep working until we can't work any more and worry about it then.

 

[Lloyd_E]

We are in the same situation up here. We pay over $6 for a gallon of milk - retail store.
I know the dairy farmers are not getting near this amount. We have had closures of pork, beef and poultry processing plants hurting everyone from the plant worker to the supplier whether they are feed or tech support.

We buy local pork grown down the road and some chicken as well. I also spoke for a turkey and will get that soon. My cousin's family is one of the largest beef producers in the province and they have had to reinvent themselves many times. A friend told me his brother, a beef producer is getting out. He can make and does, more money in a corn maze in the fall than his beef operation including a retail butcher shop, so that is why he has shut down.

What scares me and this does - is that we are going to see a crisis like the financial market in the near future only in terms of our food supply, cost and quantity/quality and it is going to be scary.

When you eventually get large & limited producers - mega farms you will see prices increase and supplies decrease with some items going out of production because they are too costly or are not stylish in the market.

The question I have is when will the consumers wake up and realize things have to change before it is too late. And to think only 20-40 years ago we were a different breed of consumer
and things were perhaps better for the farmer.

My heart goes out to these folks and these stories...

 

[RichZ]

Duffster, Aaron was exactly correct, but I guess what you're asking me is why I don't have someone else work the farm while I take a vacation.

First, it wouldn't be easy. Goats are not like cows. If they don't know someone, there's no way they would let them milk them. I can't afford a helper at this point, so it's just me and my wife, and my wife has no patience for the milking part of farming. Milking goats requires a lot of patience. I have a milking parlor, that they go into to be milked. Goats are very intelligent, and can be very particular. Some insist on the same stantion at every milking. Some will wait patiently for their favorite spot. Others will try to push any one else out of their way to get to their spot. My goats are pets as well as livestock, all with their own names are personalities. It might be possible for someone else to milk them, but it would upset them, and if they get upset their milk production drops greatly.

But, this is the life I chose. I don't want to have anyone else milk my goats, I enjoy it. But it is a huge committment. I've had to milk when I was sick, when I had one hand in a cast, when I had one foot in a cast...well you get the idea.

Dairy farming isn't for everybody.

 

[Duffster]

Duffster, Aaron was exactly correct, but I guess what you're asking me is why I don't have someone else work the farm while I take a vacation.

First, it wouldn't be easy. Goats are not like cows. If they don't know someone, there's no way they would let them milk them. I can't afford a helper at this point, so it's just me and my wife, and my wife has no patience for the milking part of farming. Milking goats requires a lot of patience. I have a milking parlor, that they go into to be milked. Goats are very intelligent, and can be very particular. Some insist on the same stantion at every milking. Some will wait patiently for their favorite spot. Others will try to push any one else out of their way to get to their spot. My goats are pets as well as livestock, all with their own names are personalities. It might be possible for someone else to milk them, but it would upset them, and if they get upset their milk production drops greatly.

But, this is the life I chose. I don't want to have anyone else milk my goats, I enjoy it. But it is a huge committment. I've had to milk when I was sick, when I had one hand in a cast, when I had one foot in a cast...well you get the idea.

Dairy farming isn't for everybody.

I see, I didn't realize goats were so particular.

My old man always said you can't afford NOT to take time off. He never went on vacations but he NEVER milked a Saturday night. That was his time off to go out for supper with Mom.

 

[aczlan]

I see, I didn't realize goats were so particular..

If RichZ's goats are like ours, they are not as tame as cows. They have a more finely tuned flight reflex and if someone they dont know suddenly comes in and starts trying to catch them, it is like a rodeo with deer

My old man always said you can't afford NOT to take time off. He never went on vacations but he NEVER milked a Saturday night. That was his time off to go out for supper with Mom.

I agree with that sentiment. My wife and I try to do something together once a week (even if it is just feeding the animals or washing dishes) and we try to "go out" once a month (on the 17th if possible) why the 17th? It is our "monthly anniversary" being as we were married on 17 Nov

Milking goats requires a lot of patience. I have a milking parlor, that they go into to be milked. Goats are very intelligent, and can be very particular. Some insist on the same stantion at every milking. Some will wait patiently for their favorite spot. Others will try to push any one else out of their way to get to their spot.

Cows will do similar things. In the spring of 2007 (when my wife was still working as a diary herdsman) we went on a trip to Mason Dixon Farms with some other area dairy farmers, Mason Dixon Farms has a fully automated robotic milking setup. Their cows have RFID tags on them and our guide said that most cows use the same milking station every day and it is not unusual for a cow to come in to be milked within 5 minutes of the same time every day

My goats are pets as well as livestock, all with their own names are personalities.

Our Goats (8 or so) and Llamas (4) are the same way. They all different and each has their own place in the barnyard.

But, this is the life I chose. I don't want to have anyone else milk my goats, I enjoy it. But it is a huge committment. I've had to milk when I was sick, when I had one hand in a cast, when I had one foot in a cast...well you get the idea.

I commend you for your commitment. That takes a lot of effort to do.

Dairy farming isn't for everybody.

No, it is not. We might get into raising a few beef cattle someday, but we will not be milking. We do not want to be that tied down to the farm.

Aaron Z

 

[Willl]

But, this is the life I chose.

I wish more would understand this.

 

[RichZ]

Thanks for your responses, guys. It's nice to "talk" to people who "get it" when it comes to dairy farming.

Aaron, you're exactly right. My goats are extremely tame and friendly, but if someone who doesn't know them would try to milk them, they wouldn't even consider cooperating.

 

[impdaddy]

This is the typical reaction from someone who has never suffered depression or owned a struggling business. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and then you can give a more informed opinion.

Turbo: Ditto. It really sucks out there right now for all businesses. and depression is a natural offshoot to bustin your *** all day, week, yr and still have the ends not meeting. I respect all in this position. Here is a good tip. I bet you have a good buddy. ask him/her if ever had depression. Ever thought it wasn't worth it anymore? Make a pact with that person to be available for a call if needed. I have this pact with 2 good friends. Of course if the dipsh(* doesn't answer the phone, forget it .

 

[Willl]

This is the typical reaction from someone who has never suffered depression or owned a struggling business. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and then you can give a more informed opinion.

Maybe you missed what I was saying,,, I'll rephrase so you'll understand,,,

There is never a good enough reason to take ones life, period.

You saying there is ?