Sunday, January 2, 2011

Our Life Will Be Changing

My husband and I have been married 36 years and we have been Dairy Farmers for those 36 years. My husband took over the farm from his parents in 1972 , 2 years before we got married. But with the low milk prices we have been hit hard with bills that have backed up. Milk prices got up to $19.00 but that still is not what the Dairy Farmer should be getting for their milk. The Farmer does all the work and gets screwed in getting a decent milk price .The months you get a half way decent price for your milk is not enough to get caught up on the backed up bills.We have been hit very hard because we are a very small family Dairy Farm . We only milk 28 cows. I guess it is amazing we have gone on as long as we have.We own our Dairy Farm, we have no mortgage payment.So in that way we are luckier than some other Farmers.When the milk price was down to $9.00 some of those Farmers could not pay their mortgage payment.We have talked this past year about selling the cows. We just don't think we can keep getting deeper and deeper in debt.We realize it has come to the point where money wise , we can't go on the way we have been . As I fed hay last night I thought to myself....in a couple of months I will no longer be doing this. For 36 years we have gone to the barn morning and night , milking the cows, feeding silage, chop and hay, feeding the calves, tending to sick animals, washing the milkers every morning. Sometimes we would be at the barn til 10 or 11 p.m. if there were problems. That was life as a Dairy Farmer. In a couple of months that will all change.There will be no reason to go to the barn every morning and night, no cows and calves to feed and tend to, no more milkers to wash. And as much as it was sometimes hard to be so tied down ..... I think it is going to be as hard ( or harder ) to cope with the loss of not being a Dairy Farmer any more ! A life of a Dairy Farmer is tough and it is very stressful. But there were also many joys. And as hard as it was sometimes ...I know my husband and I are going to miss very, very much going to the barn and the work that goes into being a Dairy Farmer.Being a Dairy Farmer wasn't a job, it was a way of life. Many people who follow me on Twitter know how all our grandchildren love coming here to the Farm and going to the barn. Like I said before , our 15 month old grandson is too little to understand why we are no longer going to the barn and seeing Pap and the cows. JPlovesCotton wrote a piece on her blog (http://jplovescotton.wordpress.com ) that was wonderful and touched my heart . She wrote.... " The image of a grandson and grandad no longer having that reason to put on their boots and head to the barn may permanently reside on my eyelids." That is what I may miss the most , the loss of such a simple thing .

9 comments:

  1. I am sorry to hear this. It is unthinkable that those of us who raise food have to scrape to get by (at best) and go out of business (at worst). Why do we value the valueless and scorn the important (like food)?

    What will you do?

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  2. Thank you for your commitment to dairy, farming and the entire agriculture industry for the past 36 years. I personally am touched by your honesty in telling your family farm story through the hard times both on Twitter and on this blog. I will be following and wish you all the best as you move forward with your changes on your farm in 2011.
    Katie in North Dakota

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  3. Diane,

    Thanks again for sharing with me so openly and the kind words you said about my blog post on the situation you face. As you saw, a number of others in agriculture were touched by the story & retweeted the post. More people understand the stress of dairy prices because you were willing to tell such a tough personal story. My heart goes out to your family and I'll keep reading the blog and tweets.

    Final thanks for the kind words about the words I wrote. I felt you trusted us to pass your story along and am glad you feel that trust was well placed.

    jp

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  4. My heart goes out to you and your family! And really to are nations, who will be without one more family farm. As each family farm disappears a familys' life changes, small communities dwindle and dissappear.

    I so much appreciate the information you have given on your blog to present a true economic picture of the agriculture/food industry in North America. You have educated many people!

    I believe new doors (floodgates) are opening and people in their search for healthy food will find healthy lifestyles. Farming on a small scale to produce food for themselves and their immediate area of trade will rebuild our small close knit communitees. The tide is turning!

    You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers as we all begin this new year.

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  5. Thank you all for your caring words . It IS going to be hard to give all this up . My husband will be working for the Township ( he is a Twp. Supervisor now and has been for 10 yrs. ) . So I am thankful we will have an income .Plus my crafts that I sell will help . I am hoping with that and what we get for selling the cows we will be ok. I pray every night it will work out. And as I have always said every time I get so depressed and think we have had it, God looks out for us and helps us. Again, thank you all so very much for your thoughts and prayers ! Diane

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  6. I have been married to Farmer for 39 years. He is 3rd generation and our sons are 4th generation farmers. We've been treading water ourselves this past year.

    I grieve for you. A non-farmer has no idea the tie to the land. There are times I feel like laying down in the field and love the dirt! The smell of fresh hay, sweet milk, hearing our BEBs (brown eyed bossies) mooing and the calves bawling. The hum of the tractors.

    Oh how I wish I could do something to help you keep your life.

    Thank you for being faithful with what God entrusted to you. God is true to his Word. Blessings to you.

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  7. Thank you for your words. You are so right ! A non farmer has no idea the ties you have to your farm and animals . I wish something would be done to help Dairy Farmers get a decent price for their milk . Politicians do not care . Not all of them , but the majority do not care !

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  8. I AM SO VERY VERY SORRY THAT YOU MUST SHUT DOWN THE FARM ....GOD WILL SEE YOU THROUGH AND YOU AND HUSBAND WILL BE ALRIGHT ..... THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES IS WHERE I TURN WHEN CHANGE IS INEVIDIBLE ..... ALSO THE PSALMS .....I ALSO HAVE A GOOD FRIEND WHO HAS A BROTHER-IN-LAW THAT OPERATES A SMALL DAIRY FARM IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF PA AND THEY ARE SUFFERING GREATLY TOO .....KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND TRUST IN THE LORD AND I KNOW I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU BUT BE GRATEFUL THAT YOUR HOME MORTGAGE IS PAID ....REST WELL

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  9. Thank you for your words. I hear this everywhere that Dairy Farmers are in trouble and I can't understand why no one will listen to our pleas . All we want is a livable price for our milk. By the time some one does listen I am afraid it will be too late. Again , thank you !!

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