Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-03-02)

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dealers,thetruckingcompanies—respondtoa dwindling

customerbasebyraisingpriceswheretheycan.Intheend,

thehardshipcirclesrightbacktothefarmers.

Onedaylastyear,thebearingswentoutinoneoftheaxles

ofYager’smanurespreader.Nobigdeal.Hedrovetothelocal

equipmentdealer,whochargedhim$165fornewbearings.Six

monthslater,thebearingsontheotheraxlewentout.Again:

notragedy.Butthistimethesamedealerchargedhim$310for

thesameservice.Theadhocinflationwouldbeforgivableif

it didn’tseemlikeit wascompoundedeverysingleday.Yager

sellsmostofhismilktoa localcheeseprocessor,andin 2016

hepaidtheprocessor$4,800totruckhismilkfromthefarm

totheprocessingplant.Lastyear,forthesameserviceand

forroughlythesameamountofmilk,theprocessorcharged

himmorethan$38,000.

Crazy,youmightsay,and—savea choicewordortwo—

you’dbeechoingYager’sthoughtsexactly.In 2019 heconsid-

eredtakingouta loan,buyinga bigtruck,andshippingthe

milktohisprocessorhimself.Butwhentheprocessorreal-

izedfarmerswerewillingtoresorttosuchmeasures,it started

levyinga surchargeonallfarmerswhotruckedtheirownmilk.

Otherlocalprocessorsdidthesame.

“Everytimeyoucomeupwitha plantomaybemakethings

better,I justfeellikethere’ssomeonewho’salreadya step

aheadofyou,”Yagersays.“Sowhatdoyoudo?”

A lotofpeoplegooutofbusiness.

n thesummerof2019,abouta dozenfarm-loanofficers,

equipmentdealers,manurestoragetechnicians,and

otheragriculturalprofessionalsfiledintoa conference

roomina countybuildinginWestBend,Wisc.They’dsigned

upfora half-dayworkshopdesignedtohelpthemrespond

todairyconsolidationintheircommunities.

Theprogramsboretitlessuchas“EmbracingOption

B”and“MakingtheConnection:CommunicatingWith

DistressedFarmers.”Aninstructorbriefedthemonthe

basicsofmindfulnessmeditation,thedifferencesbetween

empathyandsympathy,andhowtouseEARS(Explore,

Affirm,Reflect,Summarize)whentalkingtoa troubled

farmer.Astheattendeestooknotesfroma slideshowing

“TipstoTakeBacktotheBarn,”theinstructoraskedhow

manyofthemhadencounteredfarmerswho’dexhibited

worryingsignsofdepression.Everyoneofthemraised

a hand.

Indairy-producingcommunitiesnationwide,localagricul-

tureextensionofficesarelaunchingprogramstoencourage

stressedfarmerstotrynewventures.Wisconsin’sagricul-

turedepartment,forone,providesfarmerswithinformation

abouthowtheymighttransitionfarmsintobedandbreak-

fasts,pettingzoos,orfarm-to-tablerestaurants.

Mentiontheseideastofarmersandotheragricultural

professionals,andchancesarefairyou’llwitnessa roll

oftheeyes.JerryGander,whohelpsmanageherdnutri-

tionforfarmersacrossthestate,includingYager,shakes

hisheadindisbelief.“Imean,comeon.Really?Theyreally

thinkwe’regoingtosustainthisregionwitha bunchofbed

andbreakfasts?”

Gander,justbyexpressinghisdoubtsoutloud,seemsto

tapa deepreservoiroffrustration.“There’sgottobesome-

thingotherthansaying,‘Well,youhavetobebigtosur-

vive,’” hesays.“Maybethisisgettinga littleradical,but

it remindsmeofmedievaltimes.Likewe’regoingbackto

that.We’llhaveourkings—theowners,thecorporations—

andthenwe’llhaveallthepeoplewhoworktheland.That

didn’tworkwellcenturiesago.Becausetakingownership,

takingpride—that’swhatmakesthingsreallywork.We’re

gonnalosethat.Andthinkaboutconservation.Thinkabout

waterquality.I don’tthinkyoufindlandconservation,water

quality,andanimalcareanybetter,anywhereintheworld,

thanyoudoonthesefamilyfarms.Youabsolutelywillnot!”

Hestopshimself,apologizingforgettingcarriedaway.

“It’sjustthatthesearebigculturalquestionswe’regonna

havetodealwith,andwe’restuckrightontheforefrontof

it.Peopleintown,theyjustdon’thaveanycomprehension,”

Gandercontinues.“We’regonnawatchourschoolsdisap-

pear.Ourgovernmentsdisappear.Ourroadsfail.That’sa

comingthing.It’snotjustB.S.”

idallthatangst,somefarmershavefounda wayto

rofitonsmallnessitself.

PaulAubertinegrewupona plotoflandover-

lookingtheSt.LawrenceRiveronthenorthernedgeofNew

Yorkstate,nearCapeVincent.Hewaspoisedtobethesev-

enthgenerationofhisfamilytotakethereinsofthe50-cow

dairyfarm,butin 2002 hisfatherandgrandfatherdetermined

theycouldn’tkeepthebusinessafloatanylonger.Aubertine

wenttocollege,pursueda careerinsales,andstarteda family.

Theolderhegot,themoreherecognizedandvaluedall

thathadbeenlost.There’dbeen 35 or 40 dairiesinthecom-

munitywhenhewasgrowingup;now,wrackinghisbrain,he

couldcomeupwithfour.“Ireallywantedmykidstoexperi-

encewhatI’dexperienced,togivethemthechancetogrow

upona farmandbeexposed

tothesamething,”hesays.

He and his brother-in-

law, a computer scientist,

decidedin 2015 to restart

thedairy.Theycrunchedthe

numbersandsawthattrying

tocompetewiththe1,000-

cow mega-dairies ontheir

termswasa recipefordisas-

ter.“I’veneverhadaninter-

est in having employees,

and$300,000tractors,and

alltheotherstuffyouneed

for that,” says Aubertine,

who’snow37.Instead,they

decidedtoproducemilkthat

couldbecertifiedasgrass-fed

$25

20

15

10

1996 2018

Milk price received by farmers,

per 100 pounds

DATA : U S DA

Bloomberg Businessweek March 2, 2020