Dairy Farms barely breaking even

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Story Published: Feb 8, 2010 at 9:17 PM MDT

Story Updated: Feb 8, 2010 at 9:17 PM MDT

By Emily Florez

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IDAHO FALLS - When you think of the staples you buy each week for your family, you know how much prices have climbed over the last year. But one that's been stable is milk. That's good for consumers, but it's rough on Eastern Idaho Dairy Farmers.

Back in 1990 the price of milk dairy farmers got per hundredweight was around $16 dollars, 20 years later, with production costs up, dairy farms are not even breaking even by getting only $14.25 per hundredweight.

Alan Reed, Owner of Reed's Dairy, said, "It's been tight, its really been tight for the dairy man."

In 1990 the Reed Farm was prospering, milk was selling around $16 for every 100 pounds they produced, and production costs were almost half of what they are today. This was the dairy farmer's heaven, but then just last year the perfect storm hit.

Reed explained, "The dairy men in the Unites States were loosing about $500 a month per cow. It's still a lot of money percentage wise on your income."

When the price of whole milk dropped to $9.00 per hundredweight, Alan Reed's Dairy was losing money on every gallon it produced. This year the price of milk is up.

"Now we are up around $14 per hundredweight, and its up and down a little bit but things are a little bit better," said Reed.

Why the wholesale price increase? In the last year hundreds of dairy farms across the nation have shut down. Meanwhile, milk exports are on the rise. The result, more demand worldwide, less supply here at home. For Alan Reed, it's good news. But the price per hundredweight is still not quite enough to turn a profit.

Reed said, "I mean there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I mean the tunnel is still pretty long, and its going to take several more months if not a year to where the dairy man can really make some money again. right now we are getting close to being cost of production."

Farmers across the nation are feeling the pains of low milk prices, the light at the end of their tunnels they say is the that there is always going to be a need for dairy products. They just have to make it through these tight times.

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