
Dairy farming is dying. After 40 years, I’m done - noefingway
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/dairy-farming-is-dying-after-40-years-im-out/2018/12/21/79cd63e4-0314-11e9-b6a9-0aa5c2fcc9e4_story.html
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aurizon
A sad situation - but not unexpected. For decades we have been sold the values
of milk by milk marketing boards. In truth, milk is costly for that you get -
3.5% fat and some sugar and protein milk solids are 6% or so of the total.
100/6 = 16.6 cost multiplier. so $3 for a gallon of milk(8.6 pounds or .5
pounds of solids or about $6 a pound for the solids the rest is water and some
minerals and vitamins. I use an ounce or twp a day for tea/coffee So we see
this collapse. The loss of farms might allow economics to raise the price, but
people are stopping consumption of milk for various reasons. What can you do -
change what you do, as this farmer has done.

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RobLach
Total milk demand is trending down but production is still trending upwards in
the US, so dairy farms as a business (factory farms) are still finding enough
margin for expansion. It’s just these rural lifestyle dairy farms are finally
being squeezed to the brink; having a grass field with some grazing milk cows
has become a luxury.

