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Bad Chinese and Cows on Holiday
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<blockquote data-quote="farmerjan" data-source="post: 1594400" data-attributes="member: 25884"><p>As you said Aaron, the quota idea was a good one as it was conceived. Many US dairyman have wished for something of the similar idea to help save the smaller, "family farmer" local dairies. The thing that has really stuck in my craw the last couple of years, is that the milk companies keep crying surplus. Tell the farmers that if they don't cut back and not expand, that things will get worse. And it did. BUT..... and this is a big one. DFA sent out a letter describing the "extra payment" incentive that the farmers would get if they shipped a 1/2 tankerload of milk or a full tanker of milk. The numbers were something like 22,000 lbs or 48,000 lbs of milk. No dairy milking 50 to 100 cows would be able to make that and most have to be milking nearly 200 to hit the 22,000 lbs. It was something like a $.40 per 100 wt. "bonus" which was called something like a quantity incentive. And it was $.60 or $.80 per 100 wt for a 48,000 or full tanker load. SO does that not say that they want the dairy farmer to expand? And why should the smaller farmer not be able to get a better price for his milk? It has to do with the milk companies not wanting to make more stops and get all their milk in one or two stops. The small farmers are paying more for their hauling costs than the big farmer too. So no matter how the small farmer tried, if he tried to keep his production down as they "asked" to not flood the market, he was being penalized for not producing the QUANTITIES needed to get the "bonus" incentive for quantity. I had a couple of dairies that went from 150 to 200 cows just to get the extra bonus. </p><p>If a farmer is getting 16.50 / 100 wt of milk and he is shipping say 10,000 lbs. That is $1650. for a pickup. That is every other day. So say 15 shipments a month.That's $24,750 gross. Then they are paying in the neighborhood of 3,000 for hauling. That's $200 for each pickup. So now he is down to $21,750. Then there are coop fees and this fee and that, but for round figures let's say 21,000. Then he gets a bonus for butterfat % above 3.5, that adds maybe $200, and a bonus for low scc that adds another $300 so they are up to 21,500. The farmer pays for everything out of that check. Feed, fuel, electricity, hired labor, mortgage debt, fertilizer, you name it. There is not much left if anything for working 7 days a week. </p><p>Again, most love what they do, are not looking to get rich.</p><p>But if he was to get paid what the farmer shipping 22,000 lbs to get the quantity incentive price..... simply on the amount of milk he is shipping.... you would add another $600 a month to his check. If they paid what the "full tanker" guys were getting, then you are looking at $1200 a month. Yet because he ships less, because he has less cows, and is not trying to "get bigger " and flood the market... he is being penalized. </p><p>I have some past milk check stubs that shows the breakdown and for a dairy that was shipping about 16,000 a day , 32,000 every other day; and it was costing him about $4000 per month for shipping. See the inequities..... </p><p>Granted it is not quite that simplistic...... but that is the general idea. His "volume bonus" was .40/100 wt. </p><p></p><p>The whole thing is DFA was talking out both sides of it's mouth. Too much milk, but we will pay you more per 100 wt if you ship more to make a quantity discount. That is why so many smaller farmers were thinking that a quota system that wouldn't let you just keep getting bigger would be more fair. But the milk companies don't want to make more stops, they don't really want to support the small farmer now that they are established big companies. </p><p></p><p>I don't know the answer, but I do know that we keep concentrating these cows into bigger and bigger farms, and one of these days there is going so be some sort of massive disease outbreak, and we are going to be screwed. On top of that, they keep putting these mega dairies in more arid regions. They are pumping water out of the aquifers and these water sources are not being replenished fast enough. What happens when there is not enough water to just water these cows, let alone for washing and cleanup and such? And the massive amount of water that is used to produce crops in these more arid/dry areas. Yes, it makes for perfect alfalfa when you water it for maximum growth, and don't have to deal with rain and wet weather to try to get it made right like we do here in the east. But when is there not going to be enough water???</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 1594400, member: 25884"] As you said Aaron, the quota idea was a good one as it was conceived. Many US dairyman have wished for something of the similar idea to help save the smaller, "family farmer" local dairies. The thing that has really stuck in my craw the last couple of years, is that the milk companies keep crying surplus. Tell the farmers that if they don't cut back and not expand, that things will get worse. And it did. BUT..... and this is a big one. DFA sent out a letter describing the "extra payment" incentive that the farmers would get if they shipped a 1/2 tankerload of milk or a full tanker of milk. The numbers were something like 22,000 lbs or 48,000 lbs of milk. No dairy milking 50 to 100 cows would be able to make that and most have to be milking nearly 200 to hit the 22,000 lbs. It was something like a $.40 per 100 wt. "bonus" which was called something like a quantity incentive. And it was $.60 or $.80 per 100 wt for a 48,000 or full tanker load. SO does that not say that they want the dairy farmer to expand? And why should the smaller farmer not be able to get a better price for his milk? It has to do with the milk companies not wanting to make more stops and get all their milk in one or two stops. The small farmers are paying more for their hauling costs than the big farmer too. So no matter how the small farmer tried, if he tried to keep his production down as they "asked" to not flood the market, he was being penalized for not producing the QUANTITIES needed to get the "bonus" incentive for quantity. I had a couple of dairies that went from 150 to 200 cows just to get the extra bonus. If a farmer is getting 16.50 / 100 wt of milk and he is shipping say 10,000 lbs. That is $1650. for a pickup. That is every other day. So say 15 shipments a month.That's $24,750 gross. Then they are paying in the neighborhood of 3,000 for hauling. That's $200 for each pickup. So now he is down to $21,750. Then there are coop fees and this fee and that, but for round figures let's say 21,000. Then he gets a bonus for butterfat % above 3.5, that adds maybe $200, and a bonus for low scc that adds another $300 so they are up to 21,500. The farmer pays for everything out of that check. Feed, fuel, electricity, hired labor, mortgage debt, fertilizer, you name it. There is not much left if anything for working 7 days a week. Again, most love what they do, are not looking to get rich. But if he was to get paid what the farmer shipping 22,000 lbs to get the quantity incentive price..... simply on the amount of milk he is shipping.... you would add another $600 a month to his check. If they paid what the "full tanker" guys were getting, then you are looking at $1200 a month. Yet because he ships less, because he has less cows, and is not trying to "get bigger " and flood the market... he is being penalized. I have some past milk check stubs that shows the breakdown and for a dairy that was shipping about 16,000 a day , 32,000 every other day; and it was costing him about $4000 per month for shipping. See the inequities..... Granted it is not quite that simplistic...... but that is the general idea. His "volume bonus" was .40/100 wt. The whole thing is DFA was talking out both sides of it's mouth. Too much milk, but we will pay you more per 100 wt if you ship more to make a quantity discount. That is why so many smaller farmers were thinking that a quota system that wouldn't let you just keep getting bigger would be more fair. But the milk companies don't want to make more stops, they don't really want to support the small farmer now that they are established big companies. I don't know the answer, but I do know that we keep concentrating these cows into bigger and bigger farms, and one of these days there is going so be some sort of massive disease outbreak, and we are going to be screwed. On top of that, they keep putting these mega dairies in more arid regions. They are pumping water out of the aquifers and these water sources are not being replenished fast enough. What happens when there is not enough water to just water these cows, let alone for washing and cleanup and such? And the massive amount of water that is used to produce crops in these more arid/dry areas. Yes, it makes for perfect alfalfa when you water it for maximum growth, and don't have to deal with rain and wet weather to try to get it made right like we do here in the east. But when is there not going to be enough water??? [/QUOTE]
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