Whether it’s high operation costs, shortage of hay, or low milk prices, small dairy operations in our area and across the country are struggling to make ends meet.
Dairy farmer Ron Pagel’s farmRon Pagel has been a farmer his whole life, so he’s seen the industry fluctuate through the decades. While times have been tough for dairy farmers, he has faith that things will begin to improve.
In recent decades, there has been a steady decline in the number of dairy farms around the region. “I think a lot of it is lifestyle,” said Pagel.
That’s mostly because farmers are retiring and in many cases, their kids are choosing not to take over the farm. “This was my dad’s place,” said Pagel. “He bought it in 1961 and I’ve been here all my life.”
Pagel owns a dairy operation south of Eyota and milks about 80 cows twice a day. As a small operation, Pagel has felt the same effects as every other small dairy farm the past few years.
“You know, the dairy industry has suffered for poor prices for two years,” said Pagel. “We’re seen a [recent] rebound in prices there. I think in the near future, forage supplies, if you’re buying hay in particular, the costs are going to be pretty expensive. Feed costs in general I think are holding their own, you can see that from the struggles that the crop farmers are having.”A calf at Ron Pagel’s dairy farm
While Pagel sells his milk to Land O’ Lakes, he has neighbors who sell to AMPI.
“You know, I don’t think they are worried about a market for their milk, Blair and Jim Falls, Wisconsin is taking a lot of that production,” said Pagel. ” I think this is something that was planned out ahead of time by the powers to be within AMPI. It’s a plan. It’s an old plant, they aren’t going to reinvest in downtown Rochester. If they are going to invest in a plant, they are going to probably go to where the milk is.”
Pagel hopes that the recent increase in milk prices will help dairy farmers get back to running their operations more efficiently.