It may be miles away, or just down the street, but the place that puts the milk on your table is likely struggling.
«I was born into, just like these calves,» said dairy farmer Chuck Fry.
Fry has worked on his family’s farm for more than 35 years, he’s been through ups and downs, and many government programs. He says the state of dairy farms today, is in a class of it’s own.
«This is not working,» he says. «Worse than everything I’ve ever seen. It’s tough.»
So what does it take to keep this dairy open? For starters, the alarm goes off at 4 o’clock and there’s a lot to do.
Fry and his team milk nearly 200 cows, twice,every single day.
«You can’t just turn them on and off, it’s a challenge,» he says.
With one baby calf born every other day and 7,000 gallons of milk sent out every other week, this farm doesn’t have a deficit of milk but a deficit of customers.
«When you get up every day knowing everything you do is gonna cost you money to work this hard, it’s crazy,» says Fry.
Fry says two of his neighbors recently sold their cows and his profits are down 50 percent in two years.
One congressman has taken note. Ron Kind is working to create an action plan, including marketing to countries overseas and encouraging the next generation of farmers to get involved.
«We have more work to do there in order to tear down some barriers that currently exist,» says Fry (D – Wisconsin).
Fry says-that’s the right idea, because right now, the future looks pretty bleak.
«We can’t do this for another year,» he says.
But he’s not giving up on his family farm, because for more than 130 years, those in his family have kept it going.
«We’re just kinda hanging on for dear life at this point,» he says. And he says he won’t be the last one to lead the ship.
Source: WDTV
Link: http://www.wdtv.com/content/news/Dairy-Surplus-Still-Creating-Problems-for-Farmers-389666602.html
