During the past couple of years, the base milk
price has not met the cost required by most
farmers to produce, leading them to lose
money. Net incomes have either declined or
are negative.
“That means people are leaving unpaid bills
out there,” Sirianni said.
Both interest rates and debt rates are increasing
across the ag and dairy industry. A large number
of farms can’t afford to buy new equipment, so
they try to repair the equipment they have but
can’t afford to pay their repair bills, Goede said.
The crisis has spread throughout other aspects
of the rural economy.
“(Equipment dealers and repair shops),
feed dealers, fertilizer, dairy supply,” Goede
said. “The ag economy is such a huge driving
force for our rural communities, without
farms you’re going to see a lot of the
businesses disappear.
“That’s what a lot of our farms are facing, how
do you pay off a 22% interest feed bill, when
you still have to feed the cows. You still have to
buy more feed but now you’re paying 20-22%
more on a feed bill because you can’t pay it
every month.”
Despite the numbers and the crippled
market, Goede, Schomburg and Sirianni
remain hopeful. Like Allen-Tully, they see
evidence of a government that’s trying to fix
things that should have been fixed a long time
ago in regard to fair prices in international
trade agreements.
“I think we’re going through a painful fix,”
Sirianni said.