Lawmakers announced a deal on Wednesday to offer $350 million in aid to struggling dairy farmers.
Some of the money would buy surplus cheese and other dairy products to try to raise prices. The supplies would go to food banks and other nutrition programs.
Many dairy farmers are struggling because a gallon of milk has hit its lowest price since August of 2004. The national average is less than $3.00 a gallon now.
Cline Brubaker has been in the dairy business for 42 years. He says the trend he sees in Franklin County, is troublesome.
"We are seeing a gradual decrease in the number of farms. I would say 25 years ago, we had twice the amount of dairy farms as we have today," said Brubaker.
His farm has 75 cows, and he says they produce 3,000 pounds of milk daily. He says when he bought the farm from his parents back in 1967, he was making $7.00 per 100 pounds. In 1980, that number was $16.00 per 100 pounds. Right now, he is getting $2.00 less than that.
Food costs for the cows are part of Brubaker's troubles. It costs him about $300 a day to feed his cows, but he only brings in about $420 a day in milk. Combine that with other expenses to run the farm, and he estimates his losses to be around $100 per cow a month.
Another big concern is the next generation of farmers, and how they will be able to keep the supplies up, with profits falling fast.
"I am concerned where food will come from in the future. If we can't make a living comparable to what other people are making, with the risks and responsibilities, we are gonna see problems," Brubaker said.
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