As international demand and the price of milk continue to decrease, some
dairy farmers are considering selling or killing herds, dumping milk into sewers or leaving the business altogether.
The situation is so bad that two financially stressed farmers recently took their own lives -- one of many indicators, dairy farmer groups say, that the amount of stress-related illnesses among dairy farmers is growing.
The
Los Angeles Times reported:
"'We are getting more phone calls and concerns about suicides than ever,' said Michael Rosmann, executive director of AgriWellness Inc., a Harlan, Iowa, nonprofit operating mental-health hotlines for farmers in seven Midwestern states.
"Through much of last year, the average milk price hovered around $17 per 100 pounds -- although consumers purchase milk by the gallon, the industry measures by pounds. The bottom fell out of the market when the economy tanked last fall. Prices now hover around $10, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Farmers generally need at least $16, and often more, per 100 pounds to break even, depending on their debt, feed requirements and other factors.
"It's good for shoppers. A gallon of milk at Stater Bros. is just $2.02, down 28 percent from $2.79 a year ago. But it has created havoc in dairyland.
"'It is a mess. The market just disappeared with the global economic crisis, and unfortunately for dairy producers, they can't simply turn the cows off to reduce the supply of milk,' said Michael Marsh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen in Modesto."
Some dairy farmers have turned to Congress for help.
Farmers of organic milk have taken a legal hit. WebWire said:
"Since 2005, a handful of giant factory farms, each milking thousands of cows, have been accused of skirting strict federal organic regulations and creating a surplus of cheap "phony" organic milk flooding the market and driving down profit margins for legitimate industry participants. The Cornucopia Institute estimates that as much as 30-40 percent of organic milk is now coming from giant industrial operations, milking as many as 7,000 cows each.
"Last week, a judge in federal district court in St. Louis, rejected 19 class-action lawsuits filed by consumers who are claiming fraud in the sale of 'organic' milk coming from one of the giant operations. In 2007, federal investigators found the Aurora Dairy had 'willfully' violated 14 different federal organic regulations. Consumers in 40 states sued, alleging fraud in the manufacture of organic milk sold as storebrands in Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, Costco and other national chains served by Aurora."
OhioFarmer.com reported on what the National Family Farm Coalition has said about the situation:
"The National Family Farm Coalition is calling for emergency action to stop 'the devastating crisis in rural America due to record-low milk prices.'
"'Our nation is in serious jeopardy of losing our local dairy food production,' says NFFC Dairy Subcommittee Chairman Paul Rozwadowski. 'We have already heard of farm suicides, farmers going out of business and credit and loans that are hard to get because of the devaluing of farm assets and our equity. The current crisis stems from the corruption and greed that exists in the industry and not because of any rational supply-demand factor.'"
Everyday there are lots of economic surveys released. A global...
