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The Milk Price Blues · 167 167 17 The Milk Price Blues it is hard to believe that i retired and moved to South Carolina just about a year ago. it’s May of 2009, and this week we’re back in Ohio again for a wedding and to visit so many old friends. it is a comfort to be back in the settlement and to drive up and down the gravel, dirt, and broken asphalt roads, past farm after Amish farm. Lots of horses are in the fields, hitched mainly to corn planters, but a few are hitched to hay mowers and even a few to hay rakes. almost all of the horse teams are driven by farmers i know—some very well and some only in passing. There’s not really much time, and it’s hard to know when to stop and when to just drive by. David Kempf and his family are working in the garden out by the road. There’s no rush with garden work. The weeds you don’t pull today will still be there tomorrow. So i’ll stop here for a short visit. “Why, it’s Randy James.” David makes this announcement to his wife as I drive in, but his voice rolls on across the garden and filters through my open window. Stepping out of the car, i am greeted by David’s warm smile, a handshake, and two giggling towheaded toddlers smiling up in my direction. “How are you doing this fine day, David?” “Oh, pretty good i’d say. at least it’s warm. We haven’t seen much of you since you moved south.” “Yeah, we really don’t get back very often. We have a friend getting married so we tacked on an extra week to see other folks. This is really the first place I’ve stopped. Since you are in the garden, I figured you might have a little time to talk.” Pointing over toward the barn i look at David and ask, “How are the cows doing?” 168 · Why Cows Need Names “They are milking fine. They’ve been out grazing on all this new spring grass, and it has really helped production.” Cows on pasture always give more milk this time of year. Winters are harsh in these parts, and dairy cows spend several months mostly in the barn eating nothing but stored feeds. Usually their winter diet is dry hay, silage, and a mix of ground dry grains, minerals, and salt. The diet completely meets all of their nutritional needs . . . but it’s not pasture. The lush green plants in a new spring pasture are packed full of protein, energy, and other nutrients. and judging by the way the cows attack it, it must taste pretty darn good as well. “How many are you milking now?” “Umm, let’s see, 23 today; we dried two off yesterday.” “How’s the price of milk? Since i retired, i really haven’t been following it too closely.” “it’s bad, real bad. This last check i got a little over $11. We’re still making it, but it’s tough right now.” “Wow.” i’m momentarily stunned. last year at this time the local dairy farmers were getting around $18 or $19 for every hundredweight of milk they sold; some of them were up above $20 with premiums for butterfat and quality. Now David says they are under $12 per hundredweight. That’s in the neighborhood of a 40 to 45 percent cut in income. it’s no wonder David says they’re struggling. an awful lot of businesses could not survive a revenue loss of that magnitude. Fortunately, this is a small farm and not a large one. Small farms are normally much more resilient than large farms or businesses. They simply have more options to control costs or diversify their product line. I notice there is a flock of chickens scratching around the barnyard. i don’t think they were there last year. in addition to supplying eggs for the family, there’s undoubtedly enough left over to sell a few dozen to the neighbors along with an occasional dressed chicken. The garden , the chickens, and maybe a fattened hog will supply an awful lot of the grocery needs for this family this year. even so, coping with a 40 percent income loss is going to be a struggle. i stare at David for a moment, trying to think of something positive...

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