Well, it's been another series of crazy weeks for us at the farm. Beside the usual hussel and bussel of fall field work and running a dairy farm...we've been working hard on pushing forward our fall project for our cows. Since we are young, starting dairy farmers, we have limited resources to use as collateral for the bank. As a solution to help us better our farm, our banker suggested working with a branch of the government to secure financing for the riskiest portion of our barn project. Sounds like a good plan, BUT just when we thought we met the criteria of the government agency, we only learn we have more hoops to jump through. First, it was the need of an appraisal of our current farm, then it was forms that we had signed in early September that were now outdated and needed to be resigned, and now we needed to get "official" quotes for ALL work scheduled to be done on our barn project! Oh good grief!
If you've ever built anything, you know timing is everything and the longer this process continues, the farther into the fall we get, thereby increasing the risk of...oh that dreaded "s" word, SNOW! We desperately need to make these changes to our farm for the betterment of our cows, so we can only hope that we are done jumping through hoops~!
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Friday, December 18, 2009
It's a "Help Out" not a "Hand Out"
I have been reading a lot of comments floating around on the web regarding the announcement yesterday about the $290 million set to be distributed to dairy farmers from the government/FSA/USDA. I have some thoughts I would like to share.
First and foremost, this aid is just that...aid. To an industry that needs to fix it's pricing system so a year as dramatic as 2009 doesn't happen again. This is a "Help Out" not a "Hand Out". As dairy farmers, we provide a product that is necessary for life. You can live without a car, but you can't live without food. This money will be returned to our local and state economies through purchases for feed, fuel, and so many other materials we need.
I believe that as dairy farmers, if we work hard to produce a safe, wholesome product for consumers and ourselves, then we should be paid for it. I wish we didn't have to accept a payment from the government to pay our bills or just survive, but it's the reality of our situation. Today we received our milk check for our milk produced in November-we FINALLY received enough money to pay our monthly bills and put a little in the bank. I couldn't believe it-it's been almost 12 months since we actually produced milk "in the black". Did you have to go to work this year and pay admission? I did, every day for the last 12 months. I didn't really complain about it, I was more focused on giving the best possible care that I could to my cows-so we didn't lose as much money as we could have.
2009 was the "perfect storm". We had higher feed costs, higher fuel cost, and we had a recession taking away our customers...you, me, and citizens of the world. We hope with the help our government officials we can change how milk is priced and reduce the volatility in the markets. I believe that challenges like this bring out the best in dairy farmers, but in 2009, even the BEST farmer produced milk for a LOSS. Those of us that are left after this year, have repairs that NEED to be done since we put them off, we have broken equipment that NEEDS to be replaced, we have savings accounts that NEED to be refilled, we have bills that NEED to be paid, we have banks and lenders that NEED to be paid back, and we have families that could use a much needed vacation.
Jonathan and I plan to use our portion of this money to pay our bills. We hope that if we pull enough money out of our last remaining savings account and use this money that we can start 2010 with no bills due from 2009. I can't believe how hard 2009 was, but 2010, we hope can be better. We only ask for a fair price and for no more government dollars, but for now...we will take the help. Thank you US Tax payers....your dollars did go to a good place, and we will pay it back when we start to earn a salary once again!
First and foremost, this aid is just that...aid. To an industry that needs to fix it's pricing system so a year as dramatic as 2009 doesn't happen again. This is a "Help Out" not a "Hand Out". As dairy farmers, we provide a product that is necessary for life. You can live without a car, but you can't live without food. This money will be returned to our local and state economies through purchases for feed, fuel, and so many other materials we need.
I believe that as dairy farmers, if we work hard to produce a safe, wholesome product for consumers and ourselves, then we should be paid for it. I wish we didn't have to accept a payment from the government to pay our bills or just survive, but it's the reality of our situation. Today we received our milk check for our milk produced in November-we FINALLY received enough money to pay our monthly bills and put a little in the bank. I couldn't believe it-it's been almost 12 months since we actually produced milk "in the black". Did you have to go to work this year and pay admission? I did, every day for the last 12 months. I didn't really complain about it, I was more focused on giving the best possible care that I could to my cows-so we didn't lose as much money as we could have.
2009 was the "perfect storm". We had higher feed costs, higher fuel cost, and we had a recession taking away our customers...you, me, and citizens of the world. We hope with the help our government officials we can change how milk is priced and reduce the volatility in the markets. I believe that challenges like this bring out the best in dairy farmers, but in 2009, even the BEST farmer produced milk for a LOSS. Those of us that are left after this year, have repairs that NEED to be done since we put them off, we have broken equipment that NEEDS to be replaced, we have savings accounts that NEED to be refilled, we have bills that NEED to be paid, we have banks and lenders that NEED to be paid back, and we have families that could use a much needed vacation.
Jonathan and I plan to use our portion of this money to pay our bills. We hope that if we pull enough money out of our last remaining savings account and use this money that we can start 2010 with no bills due from 2009. I can't believe how hard 2009 was, but 2010, we hope can be better. We only ask for a fair price and for no more government dollars, but for now...we will take the help. Thank you US Tax payers....your dollars did go to a good place, and we will pay it back when we start to earn a salary once again!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Things we are Thankful for...
Every year I try to sit down and reflect on the things that we (Jonathan and I) are most thankfull for in our lives and in the past year. So since I started blogging, I thought it would be a great idea to post our list:
- God: Thankful that we have a deep faith in God and that no matter what life brings our way, we can depend on him to help us through it. On a farm this may be a daily event, so faith in God is critical.
- Each other: It's especially nice to be able to depend on each other. When we have bad days and yell at each other, it's nice to know that we will always be able to make up and move on with life, with each other. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Jon-he's been my best friend for almost 10 years already~!
- Family: we are so thankful that we have a family that loves us and supports us, and even though they can be a little annoying from time to time, we know that they are always there and in our corner.
- Our Farm: We are truly grateful to be able to live on a farm. What a great future we can provide out kids someday! A farm is an awesome place to see all of the wonders that our Lord can provide as well as a great school to teach some of life's best lessons.
- Our Cows: Yes, we sure are thankful for those darn cows! How could we not be thankful for them? With great love, we care for them and we know that the better job we do caring for our cows the greater their care for us. It's a priviledge to be blessed with the care of one of God's great creature....each with their own indearing personalitites.
- Fellow Farmers: Without the friendship of our neighbors and fellow farmers, some days would be unbearable. We are truly thankful for them and the good work that they do as well. As less than 2% of the nation's people are farmers, we know we are part of a small group of people that feed the world...we are thankful for their hard work and the food that they provide.
- Our Consumers: Thank you for your support of our products. Thank you for serving your kids 3 servings of Dairy each day to provide them their daily requirement of calcium. Thank you for enjoying cheese, milk and yogurt as nutritious snacks! We are very grateful for your support and hope to continue to supply you with safe, quality, wholesome products this coming year.
- Our Leaders: Without leaders, we could have no followers....thanks to those who are leaders in government, religion and in the ag community...your leadership is inspiration to the rest of us, working hard each day!
So many things to be thankful for! Make sure as you gather with your family and friends tomorrow to say a couple prayers for those who worked so hard this past year to help put food on your plate. It's not an easy job, but we do it every day to feed our consumers like you!
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving from Orange Patch Dairy!
Shannon and Jonathan
Sunday, July 19, 2009
3rd Cutting of Hay Done!
Ah the joys of Minnesota weather! When we cut 1st cutting of alfalfa in May-it was 97 degrees and 50 mph winds. Our June, 2nd cutting took us 7 days between rain showers/thunderstorms and 80 degree humidity. This 3rd cutting of alfalfa that we finished last night was harvested in 60 degree weather-cool and day, much like October should be. It's been a roller coaster of weather this summer. We are currently 7 inches behind on our annual rain fall-which the crops are really starting to show. It's been cool and dry so the corn isn't "burning up" too quickly but if we don't get rain this week it will be the end of some of our corn-it's just been too dry for too long.
Nevertheless, we finished our 3rd cutting of alfalfa-all 130 acres which yielded only 85% of what it should have. It took us about 2 days to start and finish-thanks to the help of a good friend who came over to help drive tractor and lots of family. One of the joys of working on a farm is that family is usually able to help during big projects like this. Working with family is fun and trying all at the same time. Now we begin praying for rain-lots of it, with a little bit of God's help.
We got our milk check for June's milk today. As dairy farmers we are paid twice per month. Our creamery pays us every month of the 17th (for the month previous-June) and the 25th (advance check for July). Our take home price for milk was $10.68/one hundred pounds of milk. This milk price would equate to about 93 cents per gallon of milk. This price is not enough to pay all of our bills, but it does pay some. We also receive a monthly MILC (Milk Income Loss Contract) payment from the government. This check also doesn't help to meet our monthly bills, but it does help. We would prefer to not collect money from the government, but help is appreciated at a time like this. We try to capitalize on some premiums/bonuses from the creamery. We get paid extra money if we can increase our butterfat and protein levels. We also get increased premiums for high quality milk (lower somatic cell count or less infections/white blood cells). Therefore, we are doing are best to get any premiums we can---healthy cows are profitable cows!
Today was a good day for a nap-even if it was finally summer outside again. We went to church, out to eat, and home for sleep. It was awesome! It's been a couple of long nights working to get hay done.
Nevertheless, we finished our 3rd cutting of alfalfa-all 130 acres which yielded only 85% of what it should have. It took us about 2 days to start and finish-thanks to the help of a good friend who came over to help drive tractor and lots of family. One of the joys of working on a farm is that family is usually able to help during big projects like this. Working with family is fun and trying all at the same time. Now we begin praying for rain-lots of it, with a little bit of God's help.
We got our milk check for June's milk today. As dairy farmers we are paid twice per month. Our creamery pays us every month of the 17th (for the month previous-June) and the 25th (advance check for July). Our take home price for milk was $10.68/one hundred pounds of milk. This milk price would equate to about 93 cents per gallon of milk. This price is not enough to pay all of our bills, but it does pay some. We also receive a monthly MILC (Milk Income Loss Contract) payment from the government. This check also doesn't help to meet our monthly bills, but it does help. We would prefer to not collect money from the government, but help is appreciated at a time like this. We try to capitalize on some premiums/bonuses from the creamery. We get paid extra money if we can increase our butterfat and protein levels. We also get increased premiums for high quality milk (lower somatic cell count or less infections/white blood cells). Therefore, we are doing are best to get any premiums we can---healthy cows are profitable cows!
Today was a good day for a nap-even if it was finally summer outside again. We went to church, out to eat, and home for sleep. It was awesome! It's been a couple of long nights working to get hay done.
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