Latest Farm News

Big Whoop, I hear you say.

It's been kind of a slog for the last 6-8 months, and we've been rescued by very high mik prices. but the tables are turning and I'll tell you why.

Last winter, I was working full time and it was cold and the snow was deep. These three factors led to cows not getting bred between Christmas and April. So we had a dearth of fresh cows this fall, leading to increased days in milk (up to 260 avg.-very bad) and decreased production. In the spring I was able to get all the laggards bred, and we are about to reap the rewards. I have 13 cows due in March, and 35 due in the next 4 months! Production is about to explode. And breeding this winter has been much better than last, so we shouldn't have the same rough spot next year.

Milk prices have been excellent as I mentioned, but have been in a steady decline since the super bowl, which apparently has a positive effect on cheese prices. Cheese and butter prices on Friday were at a level that I would call acceptable, in contrast to the Very high prices of 04. But yesterday the market turned back up after some poor inventory reports and cheese and butter futures were markedly higher yesterday and today. You can read about it here:
http://www.dailydairyreport.com/data/ddr022305.pdf
Note the graph of butter inventories for the last two years. The inventories of 2003 are Vanished.

So production and price are going to be rising as we move into the months that are relatively easy and have the lowest expense. I thought I would share my optimism with you. Since I decided to rebuild the herd in Mid-2002, we have more than doubled the herd size, with only a few cow purchases. Since 2001, milk production has increased an average of 20% a year, and this year we should ship more than a million pounds, an increase of 110%from 2001.

Does everyone know this? Polka was put under contract for a bull calf by Genex (a stud service) and she's due to calve in June. If it's a bull, we keep it around for 6-7 months and then he goes to Ithaca? or maybe Wisconsin until he's old enough to produce semen. Then he's used for artificial insemination and several years later his daughters are evaluated and he gets a proof. Unfortunately for me, lucky for David, David owns half of Polka (49% actually), so he gets half the windfall. But I couldn't ask for a better friend than David, so I'm glad he can share.

Aren't you glad Mom started this blog? Isn't she something?

Dad