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GOSHEN – Milking cows has been a lifelong dream for Richard Thomas.
At Leann Acres, he lives his dream every day. It starts at 4:30, milking until 8:30. He then deals again from 15h30 to 19h. – every day, no matter weekends or holidays.
Thomas lived this dream for the last 39 years at his dairy farm in Middlebury. After his marriage, he buys land 5 miles from home and raises his herd from about 15 cows to 120 cows. But, for several years, he says that his farm "hobble".
Dairy farms are struggling to make ends meet across America and Indiana as the milk market dries up, said Doug Leman, executive director of the Dairy Farms. Indiana Dairy.
"The facts are very sobering.The market is what the market is," said Leman. "I hear about every week someone who leaves the company." [19659002] About 50 state dairy farms have closed since January, due to either the dismal dairy market or the retirement of a landlord. About 1,000 dairy farms in Indiana.
To make matters worse, for 27 dairy farmers in Hoosier, the contracts with Dean Foods ended in June .In 1965, Dean Foods announced that it did not plan to closing his farm, but he hoped to retire in the years to come and pass the farm to his son.
"At this point, I do not see when (the market) arrives," said Thomas. can not retire now. They tell me that it takes money to live when you retire, and there is more to live on now.
The cause of the struggles of Thomas and other dairy farmers? According to Leman, the economic law of supply and demand is at the heart of the fall in milk prices.
People drink less milk, but milk production has increased. He explained that this caused a drop in milk prices.
In 2016, milk consumption was the lowest since 1975, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. But milk production is the highest since 1980, according to the USDA
which caused milk prices to fall by an average of $ 20.10 per 100 pounds in 2011 to an average of $ 15.80 in April
. John Adam, owner of Knollbrook Farm south of Goshen, said that if dairy prices had changed so much in a year, his farm would lose $ 200,000
Adam says he started his dairy farm in 1986 with his wife, Cynthia, so that they could raise their family on the farm.
"I wanted to see my children grow up, I wanted to teach them to work, I wanted to teach them Christian principles," he said.
However, the milk market created difficult financial situations that forced the couple to seek additional income for their farm, he said. Money lost on farm, Adam family runs corn maze, farm tours and Cynthia works full-time
"It's been so tight that we continue to live dearly," he said. he says. Cynthia said that if something breaks on the farm, they do not have the money to fix it.
Reduced milk consumption could come from consumer preferences for nut milk or other alternative milks, says Cynthia. in popularity, according to a report by Nielsen, a global research company. In the past five years, sales of almond milk have increased by 250 percent, according to the report.
"It's hard to tell the direct impact of nut milks or dairy substitutes," said Nicole Olynk Widmar,
although it's a matter of "complex" issue, it's clear that people want less cow's milk, says Olynk Widmar.
International trade will play a role in the future of the milk market. The United States loses its exports, dairy farmers could be affected.
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