dairy

Agri View: Hard Work

Dan Agri View, Dairy & Livestock

hard work
Everett Griner talks about dairy farming, more than just hard work, in today’s Agri View.

Hard Work

I don’t see where any industry is more labor intense than farming. And if you measured the labor input of all agriculture dairy farming would be at or near the top. Dairy farmers have to produce a crop just like any other farmer. But then there is a herd of animals that have to be taken care of. Cows have to be milked twice a day. And nothing produced on the farm is more subject to volatile up and down pricing than milk. Farmers don’t sell milk by the gallon. They sell it by the pound. Prices can vary between $15.00 and $25.00 a hundred pounds in just one season. Not just milk but cheese, butter, ice cream prices. All have impact on the price farmers receive. And then feed prices can, and does, impact the profit and the level of any dairy farmer. Like any class of farming, dairy farmers are on a roller coaster ride.

That’s Agri View for today, I’m Everett Griner.