Dairy Cattle Prices Slipping??

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In the dairy business for the long haul?

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Herefordcross

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I have been noticing that holstein heifer calves and springers have really backed off on price and in a hurry. Calves here were bring 700-800 hundred dollars last week they were back down around $300-$400. and springers are only about half of the money. I guess milk prices are falling here back down to what they were ten years ago. I hope they kick you guys a subsidy to get you from the high milk/replacement prices to where it looks like they're headed down to. But, I know of at least two local dairies who have been able to get out of debt the past few years. But, with milk sliding again they'll have to get right back in the hole again. Property taxes alone here have through the roof with all of the development that has been going on. I appreciate you dairy guys, it was always a dream of mine to be able to dairy and now that I have a family and roots set in, my wife doesn't want to move upstate NY or some where else to buy a place, when I was younger I guess I was scared to jump out of my home town, now I wish I would've signed those pieces of paper and bought a dairy some where. We did a cost analysis and it would cost us roughly two million to set this place up as a 150 dairy. So I guess my dream has passed. But, thanks for the milk everyone and there are some that appreciate what you do. Sorry for the long post.
 
Herefordcross, you are right about the price dairy cattle dropping. If you think taxes are high in wv if you come to ny you will find out what high taxes are. Moved to ny in 1993 land was very reasonable, but in the last couple of years it has soared. Amish moved into this area about 2 years ago, they buy anything that is close to reasonable. Taxes, energy, and insurance prices make it hard for even a good operater to stay afloat.

2 Million dollar investment for 150 cow operation would be over $13,000 per cow. Wow! That would be hard. If the price of milk stays down there will be a lot of big operations for sale. The time to get in, is when its on a down cycle.
 
We started out from scratch on our farm, 12 years ago now, I never milked a cow before this, my husband grew up on a dairy farm in WI. He has to work out, I do all the milking/chores, its a good way of life. I was amused when you said milk prices are falling like 10 years ago? Milk prices were high last June and July $18-$19 a hundred, lasted 2 months, its been going down ever since, and really milk prices have been low/high low/high up and down over the course of 12 years. The problem today is that everything is high, the cost of living is high, fuel, supplies, health insurance, and us dairy farmers are getting paid prices that they got paid 30 YEARS AGO when things were cheaper. I think milk prices need to be set at at least $15 cwt, and not be allowed to go under that. We as Dairy farmers need to become more active, need to take more action, be heard for changes to be made. Now milk prices are under $11cwt, and feed is high, doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this aint gonna cut it for too long! The governement makes up this MILC program, fellow farmers refer to it as the farmers welfare, what a joke program. They think by giving this to us, makes up for the thousands we lose every month, why not just keep milk prices at a competetive level, then there would be no need for this program.

Right now we are getting a diesel surcharge taken out of our checks, another jip, this should be the milk companies cost. We already pay for hauling, shouldn't have to pay twice.

Over the past 2 months we have had to make some drastic changes just to survive, we did it, and will keep on doing it, because even after all I have said, I still do believe in the family farm, great place to live, great place to raise kids, and I still have hope that things will get better for Dairy Farmers.

GMN
 
we cant even get 500 for a milking shorthorn or holstien heifer or cow springing canadian
 
sounds like you guys need to move to maine. Heifer prices are still higher than hell but thats what you get when milk is high. We are pretty much gauranteed 16.94 a hundred here. Gotta love the state of ME.
 
BoumaticWonders":13x32qf9 said:
sounds like you guys need to move to maine. Heifer prices are still higher than be nice but thats what you get when milk is high. We are pretty much gauranteed 16.94 a hundred here. Gotta love the state of ME.

No fair! Wish I was making that much per hundred, here in the hot and super dry state of Missouri, I got paid $10.88 last month, that is a huge difference.

I have a friend who is originally from Rangley, Maine, she always said how beautiful it was in Maine, but alot of snow. Is it hard to farm there in winter?

GMN
 
Colorado dairy prices (do not know about milk) are high. I want a dairy cow but can not afford to even buy a heifer. We just want her for family use. Not only that why is it that I am paying right at $4.00 per gallon for milk in the store? If you are only making $11 per cwt????? I know there is some processing in there and handling, but still it dosent compute!!!
It takes 12 gallons to = 100#'s correct?? So someone is lining their pockets, because that $47.88 per cwt.

47.88
11.00
______
$36.88 who's pocket does this go into??
 
rkm, almosts sounds like you're around little falls or fort plain. Amish been buyin up farms and puttin alot of money in em. I heard walmart bought em out in penn. jp
 
Walmart didn't buy out the Amish in Penn. their families are growing bigger and bigger and as the number increases they have to do work other than farm or move away and farm elsewhere. A lot of them have gone to Kentucky and bought a lot of ground but, I can assure you that's it's not as fertile as Lancastar PEnn., They have added soil there over the years not taken away and the Penn State has the studies to prove it.
 
about 6 small dairies near littlefalls NY just got bought by Amish. They put up new barns and manure equipment, even a seperate veal barn on one. Supposedly Walmart bought thier farms in Penn. there has always been some amish around but the ones that just bought made offers people couldnt refuse. They paid 3000 an acre, highest price ever heard of for the area.
 
They paid 3000 an acre, highest price ever heard of for the area.[/quote]

I wish I could by an acre for $3000 I cannot buy a walkway for $3000 unbelievable. They are trying to save the farms in Rhode Island. Only 14 dairy farms left. One went out last week in Foster Rhode Island. The kids in RI will never know where their food is coming from. The only place they can see animals now is in the zoo. What did we do to create such a mess. Well the way things are going in the world how much longer do the Wal Marts have. Everyone will have to have a garden and a few chickens again in order to survive.
 
D_skro":6rbw58f6 said:
Not a good situation for someone just getting started in the business :(

You're looking to start a dairy? I saw one economist had projected milk at $20 by 2008. How accurate that it is remains to be seen, but don't let lousy milk prices scare you out of a good industry. :)
 
When dad went out of dairy in 1973 after one of the very first goverment buyouts, I remember getting something like $13.00 cwt, and a bit extra for some componants, we milked around 380 in a mixed herd back then in southeastern Penna, surrounded by Amish farms. Thats 1973 folks!

A dear friend of our just went out of dairy, milking 997 head 3 times a day trying to make it, with a staff of 7, and a farm that could be better described as a milk making factory........he finally had to throw in the towel, after his wife got the accountant to compare income from a few years back against today...................they are so in the financial hole, its not funny, after they just started to to feel better seeing some increase in prices , even if it was for a brief period of time. He ended just above $11.00 per cwt.

Well the wife is happy anyway, as she gets to see hubby now for more then just a few minutes a day. God Bless em. :)
 

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