By Stephenie Livingston, Reporter
In the past year, Lafayette County dairies have suffered a crisis. And they aren't the only ones. Milk prices have dropped while cost of production has risen, affecting dairies all over the country. In Mayo, four local dairies have gone out of business since January with a fifth expecting to close some time this month. A financial boost may be on the way as a result of a recent agreement between House and Senate negotiators to include $350 million in aid in the 2010 agriculture spending bill. But will it be "too little too late" for Lafayette County dairies?
For several local dairy farmers like Charles Koon, it is already too late. "After 55, all of a sudden the road was jerked out from under us," said Koon, whose field where cows use to graze is now being used to grow watermelons and hay. The downturned economy and the federally mandated price system for milk have placed local farmers in a precarious situation. For Koon, it was no small decision to stop milk production, but in the end, he had no choice.
"Fifty-seven years and eleven days. It was a hard decision to make," said Koon. Koon Brothers farm is not alone; Brautcheck Dairy, HS dairy & Livestock and Moses Dairy have all stopped production this year.
The federal government has mandated the price of milk since the 1930s. In the past 30 years, price of milk has gone up and down, but mostly stayed the same. Lesli Kurtz, owner of Kurtz and Sons Dairy located just off of SR 52 connecting Mayo and Live Oak, has studied the local dairy crisis for years. "The farmer has been given the same price they got 25 years ago. This is the effect of low milk prices over a long period of time," said Kurtz. "You can not have someone living at the poverty level and expect their business to flourish."
The Kurtz dairy is one of the few in the area said to be flourishing.
In January the wholesale price of milk fell drastically. As a result farmers have been getting $1 per gallon, even though their average cost in $1.90. "The price has been below the cost of production," said Rob Land who is on the Southeast Milk, located in Mayo, board of directors. "That says it all," said Land.
The cost of production has gone up with the increase in fuel and feed prices, causing even the co-ops to suffer. "When the farmer hurts, every organization they own hurts," Land said. What's worse is with the rise in production cost so has come a decrease in demand.
"It is not surprising," Kurtz said of the current dairy situation.
So why did milk prices stay the same? The answer is an unbalance of supply and demand. The large dairy cooperation's in the Midwest and far West have been consistently increasing production at such a rapid rate that a surplus developed, according to Koon. Newly developed breeds of cow as well as the use of hormones has also aided in the milk surplus, said Kurtz. Koon says the large cooperation's are also more likely to receive loans, grants, and government assistance.
Florida's recent population decline and the downturned economy have also contributed to an overall decrease in milk demand, affecting the states dairy industry which is concentrated in the Lake Okeechobee area and Suwannee River Basin. Consumption, however, is beginning to pick up in recent months, say analysts.
So Lafayette County is not alone in its dairy dilemma.
For example, Suwannee County lost Suwannee River Dairy in 2005, Haymurph Farms II in 2006, Tropical Dairy in 2007 and Day Springs this year. J-Lu and other Suwannee County dairies are nearing their breaking point.
"If things stay the same, I don't know how long we'll be in business," said manager of J-Lu Farms Martin Hernandez. There needs to be a turn around soon, he continued. "We're just waiting on something to turn us around."
"Right now we're living day by day," Hernandez said. J-Lu Farms has nine full-time employees and it is one of the smaller local dairies.
A compromise by the U.S. House and Senate calls for $290 million to be given to dairy farmers under a process yet to be determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But at the rate local dairies are abandoning their milking stations and turning grazing land into hay fields, the damage may already be done, according to Hernandez.
However, some dairies are already rising from the ashes.
"We decided to separate from the co-op," said Kurtz, whose dairy farm was nearing collapse just a few years ago. Since that decision Kurtz and Sons Dairy has done increasingly well, milking and bottling their own milk. Their cows are grass fed, instead of fed with manufactured feed, and the milk is processed with well water. The Kurtzes also produce raw milk, which is their most popular product. Lesli and Bubba Kurtz sell their organic milk to supermarkets, such as Jim's Produce in Live Oak, and they also sale at farmer's markets. "The milk we produce is healthier and better tasting," said Lesli Kurtz.
"We've saved a few of our good heifers, just in case things turn around," said Koon.
