While the U.S. economy is strong right now with steady growth, low unemployment, and little inflation, the farm economy is struggling.
The U.S. has lost 30% of its dairy farmers over the last decade. Sadly, more farmers are having to sell due to expensive loans or not making enough money. In fact, one farm family from Iowa sold their entire herd at auction Friday, because they believe there’s not enough money in milk production.
The Erhardt family sold about 250 Holsteins at the Lanesboro Auction Barn. Because this was such an emotional moment, they did not feel comfortable speaking with KTTC about the difficult decision they had to make on-camera.
However, KTTC did meet with Tom Hoscheit, a dairy farmer from Caledonia, about this major life decision. While he doesn’t know the Erhardt family, he knows others who have to make a similar sacrifice.
“It’s hard. It’s like a death in the family. You’re watching your livelihood, which you’ve spent years building up, just to watch it go through a sale. That’s very difficult. The guys that have gone through it expressed it to me like a death in the family,” he said.
Even though he only sold a few cattle from his herd on Friday, Hoscheit still faces difficult times, making 40% less income now than what he did four years ago.
President Trump signed the farm bill into law last December, which is providing $867 million in aid to U.S. farmers. However, some say the bill didn’t go far enough.
Source: kttc.com
