Milk prices are high, but so are feed and fuel and tax and every other thing prices. And they have been for a very long time.
Beef prices are also high, as are heifer prices.
It is hard to know which direction is right. We struggle with it every day.
That's a tough one :( A good friend of my folks hung on in the dairy business until it got to be too much for him at his age, so he switched to beef and still kept his farm and pretty much his lifestyle with cows. He joked he was "retired with cows." Just no TAD milking.
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I totally understand how hard it is. There has been quite a few times lately we have thought about maybe not doing this any more. So far we have gone on and I would miss it if we didn't. The prices of things aren't the only factor it is sometimes so physically challenging as new ailments pop up and new parts of the body ache each day. Good luck with your decisions and all the best wishes for you and your family.
ReplyDeleteAnd through that struggle, you aways have your eyes and heart open to the beauty around you. Those pictures show it.
ReplyDeleteLife and the decisions sometimes required to get through it can be so hard . Wishing you comfort and peace as you sort through it all.
Boy do we ever understand. Like Throwback, maybe it's time to move to beef. Of course, that is up to you. I don't want you to feel like I'm intruding.
ReplyDeleteLinda
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And another thought, you should write a book. Your writing is so good, your family is so interesting and I am sure you could write volumes of what is every day to you but very interesting to us stalkers :)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading WHILE YOU'RE HERE, DOC by Maine vet Bradford Brown. Your stories would rival his I'm sure and then some.
Nita, that may be the course we pursue if we can't hang on to dairying.
ReplyDeleteTMM, the little guy is pretty hard pressed to compete, or even stay in place in today's market. Unless you want to milk a thousand cows and manage a couple of dozen employees. And boy, do I hear you on the physical aspect of keeping at it.
Cathy, it is the only thing that keeps me going. Thanks
Linda, I don't think that at all. I welcome the friendly support from you and other folks I talk to here. Thanks
Nita, thanks! That is something I would really like to do and it is something that the dairy makes impossible, at least for me. Whenever I sit down to start something the boss comes storming in the door with a crisis that requires my participation. I did write a murder mystery, set on a farm, when the kids were small. I would love to revise that, knowing what I have learned since then from writing the Farm Side and blogging, but the same situation makes it an awful challenge. maybe someday....