CALIF DAIRIES GOING BROKE DUE TO FEED, MILK PRICES

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DAIRY_WOES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-29-17-56-57

HANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- In nearly six decades of running a dairy in central California, Mary Cameron made a name for herself in a male-dominated industry: She led several dairy organizations and was honored as Outstanding Dairy Producer of the Year.

But the 82-year-old Cameron - who still drives a tractor and supervises her Hanford dairy - is on the brink of losing her life's work. She can no longer pay the bills. Her bank has classified her loan as distressed. And she can't afford enough feed for her 900 milking cows and 1,000 heifers.

"I have been in this business for 57 years and I have never been in financial trouble like I am right now," said Cameron, who runs the Atsma-Cameron Dairy with her two sons. "I'm on the verge of bankruptcy. It's horrible and inexcusable."

Cameron is not alone. Across California, the nation's largest dairy state, dozens of dairy operators large and small have filed for bankruptcy in recent months and many teeter on the edge of insolvency. Others have sold their herds or sent them to slaughter and given up on the business.

[MadHound]

1. The drought is going to keep having reverberations throughout the country for a long time.

If it continues through next year, we're really going to have some serious problems.

[Laurajr]

2. Watch Farmageddon

It is an eye opening movie about what over regulation has done to the small farms...it is actually very scary. Big corporate owned farms are squashing the little guy and using the government to do it.

[Skidmore]

4. All the regulations or lack of regulations will not make it

rain when you need it too regardless of the farm size.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. Absolutely terrible, but it's not like this is a surprise. Once again, we've been warned and warned

and warned again, but until it happens there are so many people here that dismiss the warnings and claim it's all Chicken Little, doom & gloom, conspiracy theory, etc.

[Laurajr]

5. Understood

My point was the unbelievable stress farmers are on from all sides...just adding to the original post