People are asking what is going on.
So far nothing.
Dozens of phone calls
No answers.
It is looking very bad.
And we are looking for a used small milk tank truck
Anybody know of one for sale?
Update**** Despite feeling somewhat like a steamroller has come through here, there is a positive side to our current nightmare.....
And that is you...the people reading this, who have made us feel cared for with your kindness and concern. Your emails and kind words in the comment section help us get through the anxious days and sleepless nights. I can't tell you how much I thank you for that.
We have also had some state officials and Farm Bureau people pulling out all the stops to try to fix the situation. I can't thank them enough for their efforts to save our cows. I hope we don't have to sell them. If we do, we have promised the kids we will hang on to a few of the show cows.
Anyhow, my deepest thanks.
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22 comments:
three collie, i googled 'used milk trucks' and a large website came up with several 'tank' trucks with good photos...not sure what your price range is but you might want to look at the page. i do not know how to link it in this comment...you can also narrow your search at the bottom to different states...hope this helps! truckpaper.com
Good luck searching 3C. We all know how much this means to you. I sure wish this was an easy fix.
threecollie,
I'm hoping you've had some good new today - sending good thoughts your way; wish I could do more.
I am so glad that despite the terrible nature of things going on, you are finding some small comfort in all the people who love for and care about you, like me. You certainly have offered me much comfort and support; I am glad that I can reciprocate in some small way. I only wish I could do more.
I was anxious to get home today to check your blog and find out how the situation got resolved. I can't believe that you don't have an answer! I simply don't understand how this could happen. I guess I assumed that Ag & Markets and Farm Bureau and co-op directors were there to look out for farmers. I can't imagine the stress this is on all of you. Hugsss.
We (myself, grandmother, mother, and aunt) are all praying. I've been wondering how things are going.
Thanks for the update, praying for good news and soon! My offer still stands to call the wounderfully smart people who got you in this mess. YES I'm being sarcastic...
Off to put coats on the "kids"... and other various chores.
If you were closer you could bring your moos here. However I don't think you would want to truck your girls to SWMO :)
Still prayin' for a breakthrough, 3C. Hang tough.
3c's you have been on my mind all day and I wish I had access to a truck, but I will keep my ears open... Your a good lady and you have raised a good family, I cant only think that it will not end badly for you, goodness should beget goodness and you have shared so much with so many... Is there anyone we can call on your behalf? Just let us know...
You've been on my mind all day too. I hope it gets resolved without you having to do anything different.
I'm sending you all the white light I can. Prayers too, lots of them. Lots.
Don't you have a contract? How can it be met if the a-holes won't pick your milk up? What good is a coop if it doesn't serve it's members - particularly if it's the only game in town.
And yeah, Truckpaper.com is probably the best and largest free truck listing available. Hard copies are at just about any decent truck stop, and they have a good presence online.
Y'all are in my thoughts - this seems so draconian and unreal.
Keep your chin up. We are still praying for you all. Tell Al thanks for Sunday, Kegan really Loves Al thinking about him!!
i don't understand why they won't just work out something with your former hauler and let it be settled...i really hope this get resolved as i'm sure you do too.....the snow's falling again...more grrrrrrrr...happy easter and more prayers are on their way to northview! :)
Hang in there! If there is anything, and I do mean anything, I can do, let me know! I am serious!
I am SHOCKED! This is just horrible! I wish I could do something for you. Having live for the first 10 years on a milk check I understand!
Will they take the milk if you deliver it to them, or can you open your own Fresh Milk Factory or Cheese Factory? (I know it costs money, money, money). But I just wrote a grant for training dollars for a Dairy here in Colorado so they could open a cheese factory. This dairy also got a big grant from the state to do alternative/value added products.
How I wish I could help!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Don't know if you ship to a cheese plant or fluid, but there were a couple of farms here who were dropped by the cheese plant and they put a bulk tank on the back of a pickup or some type of truck and hauled themselves.
They had to get a larger tank so they put it on a small trailer. For fluid market I don't think it would pass inspection and I don't know how your state operates.
We have only one coop in our area-only a smidgen milk in our big county. I think & pray for you all the time. Hope something breaks soon for you.
Still hoping and praying for good news for you and the family.
Ditto - this is just an awful situation. Dairy is hard enough without all the stress and worry of something like this!
Best of Luck, we are thinking of you out West!
Remember that this is not a surprise to God. He knew it was coming, and He's on it. He is working it out for your good as we speak. He doesn't promise to make life easy, but He does promise that He will be with us and work any bad situation out for our good. I hope that thought can bring you some peace in a situation that causes such worry, doubt and fear. And, of course I will be praying for your farm.
XOXO
Joce
AS if the price for milk is not bad enough -- you have this to contend with..
We are dairy farmers in OHio -- & might not be much longer if the milk price doesn't go up enough to pay the feed bill...
Praying for you & all of us!!!
Dena
I haven't known what to say to you these last couple of days, although I have been thinking and praying for you and yours mightely.
I did email, followed up by a handwritten letter to Schumer, and a call to his office to see if there was ANYTHING to be done. No answer yet, so all I can do is to continue to pray.
I know it's hard, stay tuff, we are fighting for and with you.
J.W.
Kritter keeper Thank you! We found a market, not the best deal in the world, but we can at least keep the cows for a while
Steve, thanks, a complete stranger called us up last night and wanted us. It may not work out but it will give us a little breathing space...hopefully...we are still waiting for the milk truck to show up. After half my lifetime planning around one showing up every other day it has been shocking not to see one for over a week
Deb, thanks, it means a lot to us! I heard a lot of organic farmers in your state have been cut by the big cooperatives too. Such a shame.
Kristen, I am glad if anything I said helps you too. Caring people change the world...thank you for being there for us.
NW, thanks! Do you remember about three years ago warning me about somebody being a snake? You sure had that right. I have heard some of the most creative lying in the past week that I could imagine. In fact before this week I thought things like this only happened in DC. wow....thanks for caring.
Sara, thank you and your family. I truly have been shown the power of prayer by this. Yesterday when we came in from milking we had about hit bottom...nothing we did to try to fix this mattered. People just ignored our calls or brushed us off with whatever they thought we wanted to hear. The kids were picking out which cows would go first. Then to have our trucker, whom both sides in the great coop wars were painting as the villain, find somebody to take us on and to take the milk we have right now....it astonished me. Things are not 100% settled yet, but they sure look a lot better than they did last night.
akagaga, thank you! It worked! If I wasn't a believer before I would certainly be now. We may not be entirely out of the woods, but we can at least see light at the edge
WW, thanks so very much. The boss was almost in tears when he heard that someone actually made an effort to find a home for our milk...this has been hard, but having friends and family in our corner made a huge difference
Linda, thank you. We will have more hoops to jump through over the next little while, but things sure look better now than they did last night
Teri, thank you...it surely helps and did help.
Jeffro, thanks, it is truly terrible. The cooperative system that was made to help farmers is broken and badly. Hopefully our milk is going to get picked up tonight....
Thanks Lisa, that really means a lot. I guess the boys had a great time. Wish one of them had had a camera for a picture of that trout. I guess it was gorgeous!
Anon, I think that some really bad shenanigans were going on. Everybody was painting the hauler as the bad guy, but nobody would pick up the milk. He found somebody who would. Not a very good contract but it should at least give us some breathing space while we think what to do. A good contract isn't worth much if your milk gets dumped.
Jinglebob, thanks, we may have it worked out for a while. It means a lot to hear that people care about what happens to us!
Linda, We heard that ALL the organic dairies in Maine lost their markets....unbelievable and they are cutting them here too.
We have been looking into the prices of milk trucks, just in case we wind up in more trouble. That is pretty neat about the grant...value added can be so much better than selling commodities...you are at so many people's mercy. Thank you so very much!
LInda/IL, thanks, we ship fluid but I am still wondering if a few guys getting together to buy a small truck might not be a good idea. I think a lot of people are going to be facing something similar to what we did. Different excuses for each farm, but excuses just the same. Can't thank you enough for your kind words and prayers. I really hope the pricing situation turns around before too many more people do....hard times...take care and thanks again.
Dani, thank you. I believe that all the good thoughts, wishes and prayers helped...
Nita, thanks so much. I am beginning to feel like I have a phone growing out of the side of my head. I normally talk to my mom and maybe the secretary at the vet's office, but this past week....wow!
Joce, those are good words and a good way of thinking and I thank you for them and for your prayers.
Dena, thank you! I am learning each day about more people that have been affected by similar cuts. I hope there aren't too many. And I hope prices do rebound for all of us before too many more people have to sell. There have been an awful lot of auctions lately. Take care and thanks for thinking of us
JW, that is incredibly kind of you! I am very, very grateful and my husband will be touched more than you can imagine. He doesn't computer much but he read the kind comments when I first posted about this and he choked up and could hardly finish. You can't imagine what it means to have people be as kind as you are...thank you!
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