The expected boost in income may be a welcome sign to a struggling dairy industry in the Shenandoah Valley, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.
«Particularly over the past two years […] the really dismal dairy market and the farm-gate milk price really compelled a lot of dairymen to rethink their business model and force some of those dairy farms to move onto other enterprises,» said Tom Stanley, the Extension Agent for Farm Business Management for the Southern Shenandoah Valley and Allegheny Highlands.
Increased competition on the international and national market has increased pressure on dairy farmer, according to Stanley.
«We’ve seen some stabilization and improvement in milk prices and that’s helped,» said Stanley. «But it’s still extremely challenging for our dairy farmers.»
Despite the recent hardship, Stanley is optimistic Virginia will remain competitive in the market.
«Our big challenge will be continuing to be highly efficient producers that our Valley producers are and finding labor resources that can help out on the farm and finding the labor pool to get the work done on the dairy,» said Stanley.
Source: WHSV
Link: http://www.whsv.com/content/news/Rising-farm-income-may-help-Valley-dairy-industry-445496093.html
