County lost 20 dairy farms last year
Jefferson County lost 20 dairy farms during 2009, and 2010 will see more closures, the county's agricultural coordinator told the Jefferson County Job Development Corp. board Thursday morning.
"We expected to have about 40 farms close their doors," Jay M. Matteson said. "About 20 farms closed their doors that we're aware of. Most have been small farms."
The problem that continues to plague dairy farmers is low milk prices. Milk prices in New York fell as low as $11.47 per 100 pounds in August, before rising to about $14 per 100 pounds in April. But farmers still aren't breaking even, as the cost of production is $16 or $17 per 100 pounds.
"That we expect to continue for the rest of this year," Mr. Matteson said. "It's not a good picture yet for the dairy industry."
He guessed that the county has seen about 10 farms per year close because of retirement and attrition. There are about 230 dairy farms in the county now, compared with about 325 in 2001.
"Given the severity of the situation, we estimated that 40 would be a conservative number of farms closing," Mr. Matteson said Thursday afternoon. "Part of what I think is going on is that because of the situations, farms have lost equity and so lenders and agribusinesses are so far into the operation that they can't allow them to go out."
Those businesses need a certain number of dairy farms to stay in business themselves.
"Once we get below that critical mass, the dominoes will fall faster and we'll lose the local agribusinesses that are so critical to a vibrant dairy industry," Mr. Matteson said.
"We are still going to be a strong dairy region compared to other areas," he added.
For the county, losing farms means losing jobs and taxes. The economic benefit of dairy farms is more than $13,000 per cow.
During the meeting, board members asked why the expansion of the Great Lakes Cheese plant in Adams has not helped boost the price of milk.
"Great Lakes Cheese cannot put a premium on local farms' milk," Mr. Matteson said. "They compete nationally. But it reduces the transportation cost for farms by having it in Jefferson County."
Jefferson County Agricultural Development Corp. has a few programs that try to help farms stay above water. One is the dairy profit team, which gives farms $2,000 to help pay consultants and lenders to meet as a group at the farm monthly for a year.
The Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency and Development Authority of the North Country gave $24,000 in grants last year to organize more dairy profit teams.
Mr. Matteson said only eight farms enrolled, compared with 12 in 2008, so he still has money available to set up more.
"Unfortunately, the crisis went so bad so fast that farms were not doing anything out of the ordinary last year," he said. "The farms that did take advantage of it have done relatively well."
John D. Peck, of Peck Homestead Farm, Champion, said he tried some small changes in operating the farm from the suggestions of the team this year.
"We put a good vaccination protocol in place," he said. "And we're trying a different strategy with getting the hay harvested."
The farm also started testing cows for somatic cell counts. Somatic cells can indicate infection in cows and lower the price that farmers can get for milk.
"We made up a little bit of the loss, but there's no making up the whole margin," Mr. Peck said. "The reality is you're carrying over last year's debt."
The only real solution is to change the system for milk pricing, he said.
"And that starts with an investigation into dairy cooperatives," he said. "We don't get paid what we need to survive."
Mr. Peck said his profit team will continue to meet, most likely on a quarterly basis.
"The cost of feed and fuel have increased so much," Mr. Matteson said. "And environmental regulations have been a nightmare for the farms to deal with — they're a constantly moving target."
