The Land of Milk and Honey is now just The Land of Honey

[Rafter S]

The last dairy in Grimes county closed this summer (https://www.kbtx.com/2022/09/07/last-dairyman-grimes-county-closes-barn-doors/). It's about a mile and a half from my house.

Fifty or sixty years ago it seemed like everyone in Grimes county who had 75 or so acres of land had a dairy. I don't know exactly how many there were, but I can think of at least a dozen within five miles of my house.

 

[farmerjan]

Happening in Va also. Rockbridge county had over 20 dairies 40 years ago .... there are 4 grade A dairies left. Augusta county had over 100 dairies at one time... I think there are only 28 or so left.... One in Rockbridge county milked cows for over 60 years... sold out this spring.

 

[sstterry]

Consolidation of large dairy's have been a big cause. But the farmer's own coperative also screwd them over with price fixing and insider dealings back in the late and early 2000's and 2010's. Those actions bankrupted a lot of small operations. At least that is what happened in Order's 5 and 7.

 

[Dusty Britches]

I'm sad to hear that, Rafter. New innovations in dairy management have made the daily business less labor intensive and farmers are able to spend more time doing other things. Too bad he couldn't help set up someone like he was set up and help them get started on upgrading technology.

 

[Rafter S]

I'm sad to hear that, Rafter. New innovations in dairy management have made the daily business less labor intensive and farmers are able to spend more time doing other things. Too bad he couldn't help set up someone like he was set up and help them get started on upgrading technology.

I don't know the circumstances, but he and his wife have a son and daughter, so I assume neither was interested in running a dairy. I certainly don't blame them for that. It's not an easy life.

 

[greybeard]

Lots of spawn that spent their youth working for or in their parents' business get burned out in it early and make a vow never to grow up and spend their lives doing what their parents did.
(I was working in my father's auto shop from age 12 (so were my brother and older sisters) and I swore I would never turn wrenches for a living. Didn't work out that way tho)

2-3 maybe 4 of my uncles had dairies. My cousins all complained they never got to go on vacations or even play sports in school because 'the cows gotta be fed and milked!"
None of them followed in the father's footsteps and that was over 40 years ago and before the big consolidations took hold.

 

[Dusty Britches]

I've been following the Tillamook Dairy and another one from Iowa on FB. They implemented self milkers and they have more time to do other things. One does a lot with elementary schools to show kids technology in dairies and how modern dairies work.

 

[mml373]

The last dairy in Grimes county closed this summer (https://www.kbtx.com/2022/09/07/last-dairyman-grimes-county-closes-barn-doors/). It's about a mile and a half from my house.

Fifty or sixty years ago it seemed like everyone in Grimes county who had 75 or so acres of land had a dairy. I don't know exactly how many there were, but I can think of at least a dozen within five miles of my house.

I only have 35 acres and am trying to establish some sort of dairy. No idea how to proceed...I can't even find a Holstein for sale here in southern MO.

At the very least, trying to find a cow/calf pair for family milk needs... Otherwise I'm gonna have to milk the sheep (well, I do have some dairy sheep...)

 

[mml373]

Lots of spawn that spent their youth working for or in their parents' business get burned out in it early and make a vow never to grow up and spend their lives doing what their parents did.
(I was working in my father's auto shop from age 12 (so were my brother and older sisters) and I swore I would never turn wrenches for a living. Didn't work out that way tho)

2-3 maybe 4 of my uncles had dairies. My cousins all complained they never got to go on vacations or even play sports in school because 'the cows gotta be fed and milked!"
None of them followed in the father's footsteps and that was over 40 years ago and before the big consolidations took hold.

I tell ya what, greybeard, I retired from the military in 2020...fully disabled. Waking up on the small farm here and doing farm chores takes some discipline but that's never been a problem, given my background. Every day on the farm is a holiday, compared to working in a cubicle and dealing with the crud I had to put up with in the military. So I guess we count our blessings. I wouldn't have it any other way given my physical challenges, now, and am thankful I am finally able to experience a taste of the life I'd wanted for so many years and still have the physical ability to do it.

My only complaint is farming skipped a generation (parents moved off the farm as soon as they were old enough) so I have zero knowledge or experience, and I also can't afford more land. Trying to figure out how to make money on 35 acres. Meager income that doesn't cover inputs, so far, but that is actually changing and I expect to be making some money from sheep by next year. Growing the operation to replace employment income will require years of learning.

 

[hurleyjd]

The last dairy in Grimes county closed this summer (https://www.kbtx.com/2022/09/07/last-dairyman-grimes-county-closes-barn-doors/). It's about a mile and a half from my house.

Fifty or sixty years ago it seemed like everyone in Grimes county who had 75 or so acres of land had a dairy. I don't know exactly how many there were, but I can think of at least a dozen within five miles of my house.

timesare changing look for the same thing in the small producers of beef and any other commodity. If you produce it you better have a market before. Watermelons in Wood County Texas was a big thing and money maker in the fifties and the sixties. We only as far as I know and in my community only have one farmer that raise watermelons and sweet potatoes. He is 70 years old. Also in this area there were numerous flat double 4 dairies brought in a lot of money. You could buy good hay from all over and make some money but the dairy was a family affair.

 

[Ebenezer]

I only have 35 acres and am trying to establish some sort of dairy. No idea how to proceed...I can't even find a Holstein for sale here in southern MO.

At the very least, trying to find a cow/calf pair for family milk needs... Otherwise I'm gonna have to milk the sheep (well, I do have some dairy sheep...)

You can just buy some high MM Angus if you have enough feed to keep them going!

 

[greybeard]

If you produce it you better have a market before. Watermelons in Wood County Texas was a big thing and money maker in the fifties and the sixties.

Hempstead watermelons and Atlanta (Texas) peaches are evidently a thing gone as well.
Last peaches I saw for sale on the side of the road in Atlanta were stacked in walmart boxes and little hard knotty things just like walmart sells.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

What is high MM Angus??
@mml373 best way for you to make money on your farm would be to grain finish out steers for freezer trade. Good money in freezer trade as long as you produce a quality product.

 

[mml373]

Hempstead watermelons and Atlanta (Texas) peaches are evidently a thing gone as well.
Last peaches I saw for sale on the side of the road in Atlanta were stacked in walmart boxes and little hard knotty things just like walmart sells.

What a shame.
Hey, you're in Copperas... I know the area well (did my years as a Reservist there at Fort Hood...Air Force, but the Army steals us sometimes...)

 

[mml373]

You can just buy some high MM Angus if you have enough feed to keep them going!

Not sure on that feed, haha. ;-)

 

[greybeard]

What a shame.
Hey, you're in Copperas... I know the area well (did my years as a Reservist there at Fort Hood...Air Force, but the Army steals us sometimes...)

I can see Ft Hood from my back yard and hear their gunfire almost every day and many nights. On a still and an overcast day, I can hear morning colors and taps at night.

The big Air Force birds practice landing/approaches to Hood pretty often. T&Gs, they pass right over my house.

 

[Rafter S]

Hempstead watermelons and Atlanta (Texas) peaches are evidently a thing gone as well.
Last peaches I saw for sale on the side of the road in Atlanta were stacked in walmart boxes and little hard knotty things just like walmart sells.

There aren't as many as there used to be, but I still see a few people selling watermelons beside Highway 290 between Hempstead and Chappell Hill when I got to Brenham.