I bet it hasn't gone down any. I bet they'll blame it on the gas. Yah, the fuel cost. Farmer's cannot get the money for the milk to pay for the cost of production, let alone a make allowance like the processors. I wonder if the consumer knows that the dairy shelves are the most profitable part of a grocery store. Most if not all stuff on those shelves are returnable to the processor if not sold. The shrink (that is what they call not sold stuff) is then passed on to the farmer. Neither the processor or retailer have any risk here.
Something that Hay Bob said to Dave really pissed me off the other day. There is a large, fairly messy farm, on the other side of the hill. They've plowed up all of the fields but haven't purchased any corn yet. Get this. He is waiting for FSA (government) to get him a loan for the corn. You know why he is assured the purchase? He owes the government too much. They have to give him the loan or they loose too much money. Get that. We have over production of milk in the country and he is assured a loan (even cocky about it) because he owes the government too much. When does the government say "You know, I think we can take this loss. It'll bring milk prices up if your milk is out of the market. Others will likely pay their bills if we say no..." I dunno. Why is the government in the business of loaning money to anyone? I think it encourages flooding the market with crap.
Oneida County got MILC payments for farmers last month and April last week. Looks like we have to have special priveleges to get money from our county. The boss did that last time. I hate this lack of transparency and lack of consistency among county officials. Why should I have to play their games and ship my milk to their favorite cooperative to get this farmer welfare check on time? Heck, if the government actually did the oversite that they are suppose to do, we wouldn't have to take this check at all. It is the only subsidy we take. Can't not apparently. Tried to refuse and had it deposited last time anyways. Need it this year with WAY WAY below production price for milk. Even when animals are at grass and they are getting half the grain it is too low.
We have 8 cows that need feet trimmed. Guess what? If we actually got what our milk is worth, we could have done it this month. We are contemplating what to sell just to pay bills, let alone the trimming of sore feet. I've already taken freelance jobs to cover grocery, telephone, and other bills that have to get paid. I told Dave I'd sell the goats to pay for the hood trimming. He was angry. Dairy farmers are depressed lately.
The media thinks we are a bunch of peasants (look at ads on TV depicting farmers, they are dressed like some 1940's morons and are presented as fools). Ask any person to draw a picture of a farmer. Most will draw a picture of a man with a cowboy/straw hat, bib overalls, straw out of mouth, maybe a tractor... What is a farmer? Why can't peole see that most are college educated business people who are passionate about food and the environment. The rest are corporate farms that "Believe" like some bible thumping christian believes in some holy redemption. I dunno. I cannot spell, so I'm having a hard time completing thoughts here.
June Federal Order Class I Price Drops 22 Cents(May 19, 2006) The June Federal order Class I base milk price was announced Friday at $10.75 per hundredweight, down 22 cents from May and $2.87 below a year ago. The price triggers a 99.96 cent MILC payment to producers.
The NASS-surveyed butter price averaged $1.1658, up 2.3 cents from May. Cheese averaged $1.1602, down from $1.1698. Nonfat dry milk averaged 83.09 cents per pound, down from 84 cents in May, and dry whey averaged 28.11 cents, down from 30.56 cents in May.
Advanced Pricing Factors
June 2006
May 2006
Apr. 2006
*The Base Skim Milk Class I:
$6.57/cwt.
$6.90/cwt.
$7.02/cwt.
Class III skim:
$6.57/cwt.
$6.90/cwt.
$7.02/cwt.
Class IV skim:
$6.16/cwt.
$6.24/cwt.
$6.58/cwt.
**Butterfat
$1.2610/lb.
$1.2331/lb.
$1.2715/lb.
Class II Skim price:
$6.86/cwt.
$6.94/cwt.
$7.28/cwt.
Class II NFS price:
$0.7622/lb.
$0.7711/lb.
$0.8089/lb.
ClickHereTo See Price Formulas
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