Times are tough on the dairy farm these days. Our milk price is so low, the word “low” doesn’t do it justice. Feed and fuel costs have dropped but are still hammering our pocketbook, and it seems as if working 60-70 hours a week is only about half enough. The weather is both our best friend and our worst enemy; it’s growing a very good spring forage crop but the frequent rains could really impact our harvest and our summer plantings. Add in the fact that the hot, humid, milk-zapping Alabama summertime is only a couple of months away and you can see that there’s plenty to be stressed about around here.
But despite it all, I’m blessed almost beyond words to be a dairy farmer.
My day starts off with the opportunity to gaze into a beautiful early morning sky full of stars. My workspace isn’t confined to a cubicle, but rather is spread across 600 acres of rolling Alabama countryside. I can take my kids on a tractor ride anytime I want to, and I know that they’ll have experiences growing up that many of their friends will only dream of. And when I lay my head down at night, I can take pride in knowing that my farm provided about 25,000 people with a tasty, nutritious glass of milk that day.
Yeah, times may be really tough in the dairy business right now, but life on the dairy farm is really good! I guess you could say my teat dip cup runneth over.