It seems as though all of us have been battling our way through the economic downturn in our own ways, cutting back on spending and selling things that help bring in money, but farmers facing financial woes are being forced to sell their very livelihood – equipment, livestock and in some cases, even their entire farms.
Wisconsin just held their biggest dairy auction to date, with 260 Holstein cows up for grabs – and all of them sold, averaging $1248 per cow, with the highest priced one going for $2450. How did this all come about? The rumor was the farm’s owners, who were commuting periodically from Holland, pulled up stakes and went back to their homeland on a permanent basis.Why? Because the dairy industry has been experiencing a slump over the last eight months, to the tune of a $4 to $5 difference in price of product per hundred pounds that winds up getting lost between the cost of production versus the income.
But it’s not just Wisconsin where this is happening. Farm auctions are happening all across the U.S., Canada and even England, as Farm Auction Guide.com can attest.
So as prices on product continue to fluctuate and attempt to find common ground, farmers are forced to find ways to adapt and keep their businesses afloat. However, they’re not giving up. As one dairy farmer told The Capitol Times, “We’ve been dairy producers all our lives and aren’t about to quit.”
Here’s hoping our farmers can weather the storm and come out unscathed once the economic dust settles.
