An ongoing struggle for farmers: Low milk prices.
John Peck says, “After three years of it there’s just very little cash flow and very little reserve to take care of expenses.”
Since 2014 the cost of milk has dropped significantly, affecting farmers like Stanley Horning. ” There’s some upgrades and improvements we would like to do that we just been putting off for a couple of years until hopefully the milk price comes up Again.”
With over 25 years in the industry Stanley has been forced to cut down on farm production costs. “We keep saying well hopefully next year when the milk prices get better, we’ll replace them but it hasn’t gotten better and the cows are still sleeping on worn out cushions,” says Horning.
Stanley isn’t alone. John Peck from Peck Homestead Farms says the depression of milk prices has also taken a toll on his business.”There’s not much left to cut and you’re cutting bone. That’s why a lot of farmers are walking away,” says Peck.
Many farmers say they’re looking into selling their own milk and cheese products, which can bring in more money.
“The milk that we sell by the jug we get a little bit better price for it than if we sell it to the cooperative,” says Horning.
An alternative that still won’t make up for the financial loss. Horning says “The main problem is theres just way too much milk on the market and we somehow we need to bring that under control.”
And with the high Canadian milk tariffs recently making headlines, even catching the attention of the President, many are concerned about the future of dairy farming.
Hoping lawmakers will take real action. “They are putting Band-Aid’s and safety nets that are unproductive instead of tackling the problem that we have, ” Peck says.
Source: spectrumlocalnews.com
