Belt tightening, as milk prices drop 25%
Greg Young says it's normal for milk prices to fluctuate every three years, and after two good ones, this is the down. But, the low is lower this time around---and that has New York's senator calling for more federal help.
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling on the USDA for more price supports for Northeast dairy farmers, because their costs, for energy and supplies are also higher. "It can't hurt," says Young, who milks 1,000 cows at his Twin Birch Dairy in Skaneateles, and has seen the compensation for his milk drop by over 25% in the past year. "It just means belt-tightening," he says.
The farm employs 25, for the 24-hour business. Milking goes on 'round the clock, with each cow brought to the milking parlor twice daily, and there are also maintenance and other chores. To save, they've eliminated outside help, like the person who came in to clip the cows' hooves (not a luxury in the dairy business). They also grow all their crops and mix their own feed.
Young says all farms are belt tightening, and it's as much of an issue on the big operations like his, as the smaller ones, but at Twin Birch, at least, there are no plans to produce less milk. And, across from the big barns, there are hutches holding newborns: the future milk producers.
"It's gotta go up," he says of the milk business. We'll get through it, just fine."
