Quote:
I don't even know what to say that would be appropriate for this site!
Farmers losing hope, suicide up
- Thread starter DuckyBoys
- Start date
So many people today have absolutely no concept of the fact that American Farmers feed the world! Without them, everyone would starve!
What a D A!
What a D A!
sparkles2307 wrote:
DH thinks I should learn to drive the 1970's model BIG tractor... uh No Honey there are more levers and pedals than I have hands and feet for!
EXACTLY MY RESPONSE !!
, sad thing is he doesn't know how to operate the washing machine
EXACTLY MY RESPONSE !!
Ol'FashionHen :
sparkles2307 wrote:
YES! In the 3 years we have been together he did laundry twice and got it wrong both times! But he can do things that boggle my mind when it comes to farm equipment!
sparkles2307 wrote:
DH thinks I should learn to drive the 1970's model BIG tractor... uh No Honey there are more levers and pedals than I have hands and feet for!
EXACTLY MY RESPONSE !!
, sad thing is he doesn't know how to operate the washing machine
EXACTLY MY RESPONSE !!
YES! In the 3 years we have been together he did laundry twice and got it wrong both times! But he can do things that boggle my mind when it comes to farm equipment!
Why are people who are so ignorant even allowed to speak? Ugh...
I think people should boycott, all foods raised by cooperations. Buy from Farmer's Markets, local growers, and grow your own. I know it's hard to do sometimes, but the benefits are worth it.
Last but not least, vote out politicians that the food and poultry cooperations have in their back pocket. Both sides of the isle have sold out both, the American Family Farm and the consumer.
Pam
Last but not least, vote out politicians that the food and poultry cooperations have in their back pocket. Both sides of the isle have sold out both, the American Family Farm and the consumer.
Pam
This is ESPECIALLY true among Dairy Farmers. I don't have a lot of money but I managed to send Farm Aid a $50 donation to help their rescue efforts.
Check out www.farmaid.org
It's very sad and doesn't need to happen.
"Dairy farmers are struggling for survival right now - why?
February 2009
Dear Hilde,
I've been hearing that dairy farmers are in real trouble in my state, yet am surprised to see that milk prices have remained more or less the same at the grocery store. What's the story?
Thanks,
Gary E.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Hi Gary,
Crisis has hit the dairy industry and hit it hard. While small dairies, like the majority of those found in Wisconsin, are most vulnerable to fluctuations in the market, the dairy crisis is being felt across the nation, in every region and on every farm. You are right to think that such a collapse in the industry would at least translate into lower consumer costs at the supermarket. Yet, as you've noticed, milk prices have hardly begun to budge.
The simple story behind the dairy crisis is that the industry is drowning in milk, the result of a catastrophic convergence of factors beyond farmer control. The global economic downturn has significantly soured demand for milk and milk products; farmers are struggling to pay bills from record high feed and fuel costs this past summer; adequate credit is increasingly impossible to come by; and, to top things off, the price of milk paid to farmers by processors collapsed a record 30% in January alone, and 50% since July. With little relief in sight, the price of milk is projected to continue this decline throughout 2009 before making even a slight recovery.
To pull this into perspective: a hundred weight (cwt) of fluid milk, about 11.8 gallons, is currently selling for as low as $9, but just to break even a dairy farmer needs to make at least $20-25.
Then comes the part of the story that doesn't make much sense.
Despite the disastrous circumstances for dairy farmers described thus far, the consumer price for milk has remained largely the same. That's because, unlike other commodities, the price of milk paid to a farmer is completely unrelated to the price paid by a consumer at the grocery store, and it is not based on the cost of production. The price of milk is dictated by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which has a reputation for being manipulated into charging consumers more and paying farmers less. Corruption, price gouging, and anti-trust violations by the nation's biggest dairy cooperatives, processors and food companies have resulted in artificially low prices of shattering proportions and an industry known in great part for its volatility.
Still, despite their experience with precarious markets, dairy farmers haven't faced such dire circumstances since the Great Depression. In 1939, dairy farmers famously dumped milk on the side of the road in an effort to both decrease supply and protest milk prices far below the cost of production. There is no reason why they should be forced to suffer the same way seventy years later. We know that dairy farmers in America are a tenacious bunch. Their ingenuity and work ethic have kept them afloat through the ups and mostly downs of the market. As dairy farmer and farm advocate Joel Greeno explains, "The good times are measured in months, the bad times in years. "But even the most tested farmers haven't seen anything quite like this.
As a result, many small and medium-sized dairy farmers have already shut down operations, while others continue to head to the slaughterhouse to thin their herds. In January alone, 72,000 cows were culled, and estimates suggest another 250,000-300,000 need to be immediately pulled from our nation's stock in order to begin to stabilize prices. While this may seem like a logical short-term fix to stem the impact of the industry's collapse, it is a controversial measure and the strategy has failed us before. Furthermore, herd reduction tactics place stress on other industries, beginning with beef. Dairy farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to find anyone willing to buy their culled cattle at a reasonable price. And as dairy farmers are forced into bankruptcy, the impacts on farm service and input industries ripple through rural America and beyond, further taxing our country's already fragile economic and unemployment situation.
If current trends continue, we risk losing upwards of 80% of our nation's dairy farmers by year's end, leaving us with just 12,000 dairy farms in America. And if this level of devastation weren't enough, reports of farmer suicides have begun to surface, further adding to the unconscionable impacts of the crisis, and punctuating the need for immediate action.
The Dairy Subcommittee of Farm Aid-funded group and ally, the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), has been actively lobbying Congress and the Administration for temporary measures to address the current crisis in the economic stimulus package while pressing for long-term reforms. Ultimately, what our dairy farmers need is a complete overhaul of the milk pricing system: one that incorporates the national average cost of production, a fair living wage, and an inventory management mechanism designed to address overproduction as needed. Furthermore, the Department of Justice must tackle unchecked anti-trust violations and excessive control in the industry to ensure a pricing system that is fair and transparent for dairy farmers, processors and consumers alike.
Supporting the dairy industry through this deepening crisis is critical to the stability and vitality of our country. As Farm Aid President, Willie Nelson, often reminds us, American family farmers are the first rung on the economic ladder. If we lose even one family farmer or make it increasingly difficult for new or beginning farmers to get on the land, we put our food security and our local economies at risk.
If you or someone you know is struggling amidst the dairy crisis, please email us at [email protected] or call our referral hotline (1-800-FARM-AID). We may be able to direct you to a farm organization or farmer advocate in your area to help explore your options. Furthermore, the more information we have directly from farmers to communicate their struggle to the members of Congress and the Administration, the more tools we have on-hand for affecting true positive change.
-Hilde
Take action to help - tell USDA Secretary Vilsack to set a fair price for dairy farmers now! "
-from farmaid.org's website
Check out www.farmaid.org
It's very sad and doesn't need to happen.
"Dairy farmers are struggling for survival right now - why?
February 2009
Dear Hilde,
I've been hearing that dairy farmers are in real trouble in my state, yet am surprised to see that milk prices have remained more or less the same at the grocery store. What's the story?
Thanks,
Gary E.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Hi Gary,
Crisis has hit the dairy industry and hit it hard. While small dairies, like the majority of those found in Wisconsin, are most vulnerable to fluctuations in the market, the dairy crisis is being felt across the nation, in every region and on every farm. You are right to think that such a collapse in the industry would at least translate into lower consumer costs at the supermarket. Yet, as you've noticed, milk prices have hardly begun to budge.
The simple story behind the dairy crisis is that the industry is drowning in milk, the result of a catastrophic convergence of factors beyond farmer control. The global economic downturn has significantly soured demand for milk and milk products; farmers are struggling to pay bills from record high feed and fuel costs this past summer; adequate credit is increasingly impossible to come by; and, to top things off, the price of milk paid to farmers by processors collapsed a record 30% in January alone, and 50% since July. With little relief in sight, the price of milk is projected to continue this decline throughout 2009 before making even a slight recovery.
To pull this into perspective: a hundred weight (cwt) of fluid milk, about 11.8 gallons, is currently selling for as low as $9, but just to break even a dairy farmer needs to make at least $20-25.
Then comes the part of the story that doesn't make much sense.
Despite the disastrous circumstances for dairy farmers described thus far, the consumer price for milk has remained largely the same. That's because, unlike other commodities, the price of milk paid to a farmer is completely unrelated to the price paid by a consumer at the grocery store, and it is not based on the cost of production. The price of milk is dictated by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which has a reputation for being manipulated into charging consumers more and paying farmers less. Corruption, price gouging, and anti-trust violations by the nation's biggest dairy cooperatives, processors and food companies have resulted in artificially low prices of shattering proportions and an industry known in great part for its volatility.
Still, despite their experience with precarious markets, dairy farmers haven't faced such dire circumstances since the Great Depression. In 1939, dairy farmers famously dumped milk on the side of the road in an effort to both decrease supply and protest milk prices far below the cost of production. There is no reason why they should be forced to suffer the same way seventy years later. We know that dairy farmers in America are a tenacious bunch. Their ingenuity and work ethic have kept them afloat through the ups and mostly downs of the market. As dairy farmer and farm advocate Joel Greeno explains, "The good times are measured in months, the bad times in years. "But even the most tested farmers haven't seen anything quite like this.
As a result, many small and medium-sized dairy farmers have already shut down operations, while others continue to head to the slaughterhouse to thin their herds. In January alone, 72,000 cows were culled, and estimates suggest another 250,000-300,000 need to be immediately pulled from our nation's stock in order to begin to stabilize prices. While this may seem like a logical short-term fix to stem the impact of the industry's collapse, it is a controversial measure and the strategy has failed us before. Furthermore, herd reduction tactics place stress on other industries, beginning with beef. Dairy farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to find anyone willing to buy their culled cattle at a reasonable price. And as dairy farmers are forced into bankruptcy, the impacts on farm service and input industries ripple through rural America and beyond, further taxing our country's already fragile economic and unemployment situation.
If current trends continue, we risk losing upwards of 80% of our nation's dairy farmers by year's end, leaving us with just 12,000 dairy farms in America. And if this level of devastation weren't enough, reports of farmer suicides have begun to surface, further adding to the unconscionable impacts of the crisis, and punctuating the need for immediate action.
The Dairy Subcommittee of Farm Aid-funded group and ally, the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), has been actively lobbying Congress and the Administration for temporary measures to address the current crisis in the economic stimulus package while pressing for long-term reforms. Ultimately, what our dairy farmers need is a complete overhaul of the milk pricing system: one that incorporates the national average cost of production, a fair living wage, and an inventory management mechanism designed to address overproduction as needed. Furthermore, the Department of Justice must tackle unchecked anti-trust violations and excessive control in the industry to ensure a pricing system that is fair and transparent for dairy farmers, processors and consumers alike.
Supporting the dairy industry through this deepening crisis is critical to the stability and vitality of our country. As Farm Aid President, Willie Nelson, often reminds us, American family farmers are the first rung on the economic ladder. If we lose even one family farmer or make it increasingly difficult for new or beginning farmers to get on the land, we put our food security and our local economies at risk.
If you or someone you know is struggling amidst the dairy crisis, please email us at [email protected] or call our referral hotline (1-800-FARM-AID). We may be able to direct you to a farm organization or farmer advocate in your area to help explore your options. Furthermore, the more information we have directly from farmers to communicate their struggle to the members of Congress and the Administration, the more tools we have on-hand for affecting true positive change.
-Hilde
Take action to help - tell USDA Secretary Vilsack to set a fair price for dairy farmers now! "
-from farmaid.org's website
most in the city have no idea where their food comes from. Its not just farmers committing suicide have you heard how many military are also. Both are the backbone to our country. I wish more people would try to research and understand others pain and reasoning before spouting off their mouths. My BF says there is a 82% rule that states 82% of the people in this country know nothing about whats going on in our country and economics or even their own kids lives because so many just dont want to know. They are to afraid to see the truth. That just chaps my hide
because the more we know the better our country and society are if we get involved.
- Jan 26, 2008
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Quote:
I live in oKlahoma and everyday I wish I could farm and pray my buns off for all you folks that do...It's thankless, hard, scary, and it's all a crapshoot... Farmers made this country and when all these young punks are done running it into the ground with their theories of "entitlement" farmers will be the ones to build it back up.
(*Hennies adjusts and smooths clothes and gets off soapbox.*)
I live in oKlahoma and everyday I wish I could farm and pray my buns off for all you folks that do...It's thankless, hard, scary, and it's all a crapshoot... Farmers made this country and when all these young punks are done running it into the ground with their theories of "entitlement" farmers will be the ones to build it back up.
(*Hennies adjusts and smooths clothes and gets off soapbox.*)
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