Windmill Farm Dairy

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2011-03-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

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And the price of corn goes higher..............

2011-01-12T17:03:00.001-06:00

It is with much dismay, that the price of corn
continues to rise...higher than it ever has.
As a dairy farmer, corn is a valuable and
"must-have" commodity.
Following on the heels of the 2009 dairy
crisis, it is a huge blow.

It worries me. We normally grow our
own corn, but due to flooding, we had
a $20,000 corn loss and need to buy a load of corn.
That will cost at least $6000.00 and it may not
be enough to last until the fall harvest.

I don't know where that money is coming from.
It is one more expense that is a burden for us.

I also worry about the beef and hog farmers. How
will they make it? The American people do not
realize that farmers that are able to
stay in business will need to raise their prices
and the consumer will be paying
much more for all their food, not just beef or pork.
Chicken will cost more, cereal prices will rise
and anything that contains corn syrup (and
it's in everything) will cost more.

It is times like these, that I wish we didn't
build a dairy farm. I wish we had kept our
jobs and grew the corn and soybeans that we
used to. We could be reaping lots of money
like the ag farmers we jokingly refer to as
4 x 4 farmers - they work 4 months
out of the year and drive 4 wheel drive
vehicles.

And then I look at our sweet girls
and our tiny little heifers, and I feel bad about
what would happen to them if we gave up.
It isn't something we are ready to do yet, so
I walk around the house looking at what I
can sell to keep going......

Another Dairy Farm Lost

2011-01-09T13:48:00.002-06:00

When I started this blog and became a
"twitterer", I made several long distance
friends who were also dairy farmers. Some of
these friends live in the east and some in the
west.
Although we have never met in person, we bonded over
the fear and anguish of trying to survive
the dairy crisis. We gave each other
support, information and tried to buoy
each others spirits as we struggled
to hang on to our farms.

One of my friends from Pennsylvania recently
let us know that they will be selling their
cows in the spring and taking jobs off the farm.
How sad I am for them, but I am so
grateful this crisis has not taken their
farm.

I have tried to stay away from the news and
not look at the milk futures. The market
is still too volatile and too scary.

Dairy farmers have not recovered from
the crisis of 2009. We struggle from
day to day. I try to remember that we
do not pay tomorrow's bills with today's
money. Sometimes that helps, sometimes not.

Every time a piece of equipment breaks, I
cringe.

This spring, we lost our second hay cutting
and had a $20,000 corn loss due to
flooding. Now the price of corn is hovering
around 6.00 per bushel and when you need to
buy 1000 bushels (or more) it is scary.

It seems as if no one is listening. I
know that Congress created the special
committee to look at the problems in
the dairy industry, but
the wheels of government take too long
and Congress cares more about fighting
amongst themselves and trying to "undo"
recently placed programs instead of
looking at the American people and what
they are going through.

I am sick and tired of trying to get
Secretary Vilsack to look at the
real picture. He never answers my
letters. I am ashamed to say he
is from Iowa.

I hope that something can be done soon
to save the family farms. I'm sick
and tired of people losing their
livelihoods and sometimes their homes
because of the greed of the "big boys".

To my dear friend Diane... May God Bless you
and your husband.
I wish you peace in
your life as you move on to a more
secure future.

Death of a Dairy Farm

2010-11-08T13:56:00.000-06:00

I made this video at our friend Danny's bankrupt dairy farm. It is so sad. Please view it and pass it on to everyone you know. We have to stop the travesty of bankrupt dairy farms and do something to protect the producers.

Thank you dear Hoof TrimmersAssociation!!

2010-09-25T18:14:00.000-05:00

The Hoof Trimmers Association contacted us several months ago. They were looking for a deserving dairy farm to provide a free trim and our farm was picked!!
They came today and what a great group of guys. They were skilled and gentle with our cows. Eric, Lee, Scott and Vic took turns trimming and educating my husband and I as they provided expert service. We have had some bad experiences with hoof trimmers in the past. They either were not very skilled or they were mean to our girls. We just won't tolerate that kind of behavior. We love our girls and want them to be treated humanely.
They were in desperate need of a pedicure and today was their spa day.
We can't thank you all enough for providing this service for us.
God Bless You!!

The dairy crisis continues

2010-05-12T19:16:00.000-05:00

Here is an email I received today:

"I tried to post a comment on your page but, I'm not sure that it worked. I am a 41 year old single mom of the best 2 children in the whole world and I am also a dairy farmer. I just wanted to let you know that i know where you are coming from! This past week we missed two milkings because I was behind on my electric bill and they turned it off. It took me 24 hours to get the power back on. I couldn't find anyone with a generator that I could borrow or anything. My poor cows were bellowing and leaking milk everywhere. Not one person cared! People just don't know what we are going through right now. I have never been this poor in my life and the cows eat better than we do. On top of that, I had surgery on my neck on March 9th and have had no choice but to pay someone to milk my cows for me for the past 6 months. I have not made a penny. I had a good friend and neighbor who lived less than a mile down the road. His name was Ronnie Cox. One morning, he milked his cows, went to the house, got his gun, and shot himself in the head in his front yard. After that, his son, Billy Ray, took over the farm. One year later, Billy Ray, was found hanging in the hay mow of the barn. What is this world coming to?? I could go on for days but I just thought that I would write and let you know that you are not alone. I believe that this hardship is just beginning. What are we going to do? I thought that I had my cows sold in October. I sold them on a milk assignment and the guy never paid me. I ended up getting them back in January thinner than a rail and almost unrecognizable. I cried so much it was horrible. My cows have always been my pets(jerseys) they come when i call them. and follow me all over. It cost me almost $10,000 to get them back and start getting the weight back on them. Anyway, like i said, I am rambling now. Just wanted u to know that I am just as disgusted as you are I am struggling just as bad and willing to do something about it as well. If you can think of something I could do to add to what you have done already, please let me know."

This is another sad story. Does anyone have any ideas what we can do? It seems like nothing is working. Everyone, including the government, is talking in circles and nothing is being done. The price of milk is pathetic. I have read multiple news reports that continue to blame the dairy farmers because they keep increasing their milk production and are bringing their young heifers on board. Of course they are! How else can you keep afloat??? There are two ways to make money - either the price has to go up or the milk production has to increase. As a dairy farmer, you cannot control the milk price, so you do the one thing you can do - increase production. This is going to continue until either the whole dairy industry collapses or everyone can come to an agreement. Unfortunately, if I was a betting person, I would bet that the whole thing is going to go down in flames. How depressing.

Letter received from Sen. Harkin in response to letter written to him about antibiotic use in dairy cows

2010-03-04T16:29:00.000-06:00

Dear Friend:

I appreciate hearing your thoughts regarding The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009. The discovery of antibiotics has been one of the most important advances in public health. These medicines have provided the ability to cure what were previously life-threatening diseases and have saved countless lives around the world. In addition to their uses in human medicine, antibiotics have also been successfully applied in animal agriculture to prevent and treat disease in animals. In humans, over time, some disease-causing microbes have become resistant to antibiotic treatments with significant public health implications. Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are examples of diseases that are becoming more difficult to treat with antibiotic drugs.

I have long been concerned with the potential problem of antibiotic resistance stemming from the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. In 1999, and again in 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published two studies on the matter at my request. The studies found that widespread use of antibiotics in agriculture has been correlated with increased resistance of bacteria to medication, and that antibiotic resistant foodborne pathogens can be transferred from animals to humans. But the studies also found that the extent of human health risk from the use of antibiotics in agriculture is unknown. Further research is needed. That is why in the 2008 farm bill, I included provisions to allow further research to study antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Federal agencies are actively monitoring the correlation between antibiotic use in animal agriculture and any increases in antibiotic resistant pathogens in humans. In fact, last year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a ban on the use of an antibiotic in poultry feed. FDA evaluates every drug on a case-by-case basis, and the agency has determined that enrofloxacin use in poultry increases resistance in a particular foodborne pathogen.
The animal agriculture sector relies on antibiotics to produce a safe and abundant food supply. It is important that antibiotics be used judiciously for both the health of animals and humans. I will continue to work to ensure that current systems used to evaluate antibiotics in food production are adequate, and I will take your views into consideration when I make decisions on pending legislation regarding the use of antibiotics in agriculture.

Sincerely,
Tom Harkin

United States Senator

Our future

2010-02-28T17:46:00.000-06:00

Dairy farmers always look at their heifer calves as their future. When my husband goes up to the maternity pen to help with the birth or immediately after the birth of a calf, the first thing he does (after making sure the calf is OK) is to check and see whether it is a boy or a girl. We normally sell the boys. We keep all the girls. We love and care for them and treat them like our little princesses. We have had our herd for 17 months and we have had 59 births! Time has passed so quickly. We have 28 heifers - from 2 weeks to 17 months. Our first three "babies" were inseminated today. It will be exciting to care for them, watch them become new moms and then milk beside their own moms. It's a miracle to help create a life - even if the life you create is a calf!

Farmers: Stay Safe!

2010-02-22T19:42:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday, my husband nearly lost his life in a farm accident. He was grinding feed and heard a "noise". So he pulled back the guard on the grinder and bent over to listen. He thought he was far enough away from the PTO shaft, but he was not. It caught the pocket of his sweatshirt and slammed him down on top of the PTO. My husband had on 5 shirts - a t-shirt, 2 long-sleeved shirts and 2 heavy Carhartt sweatshirts. It ripped every one of his shirts off. My husband is very strong and somehow, by the grace of God,
he pushed his hand against something on the grinder and held his head away from the moving wheels and parts until all of his shirts were ripped off and then he fell backwards. At least that is what he thought. A few days later we looked at the machinery and there was no place he could have braced himself without his arm being ripped off. He actually was about to be torqued over the PTO and knew he could not get out of the situation and thought his life was over. Somehow he woke up on the ground, in the snow, with no shirts on and he was 30 feet away from the still spinning PTO and he had not been flipped over. He cut his throat when he was pulled down on the PTO and barely missed his jugular vein.
This is a wake up call for everyone. My son, who is a John Deere mechanic, came down to help milk the cows and do the chores while my husband recovered. I told my son that I hate farm equipment, because it is so dangerous. His words to me were,"Yes, but it is usually operator error." He is so right. So everyone......PLEASE be careful. Leave the guards in place. Stay away from the PTO shaft and for goodness sake, don't step over the PTO while it is running.

I am so thankful my husband is alive. He is really a careful person. But one mistake, one split second, can cost you your life. Don't let this happen to you!

Americans should get back to the basics in life

2010-02-10T08:26:00.000-06:00

I'm happy that the USDA is promoting "Know your farmer- know your food". The horror stories about the food supply that trickles into the US from other countries and the recalls on beef and other products should scare Americans enough that they would want to know EXACTLY where their food comes from. Here in rural Iowa, there isn't any reason why people can't buy locally grown and produced foods. It is my opinion that all Americans should have a little garden and purchase as much locally grown food as possible. In the end, it would save on massive recalls, fuel used for trucking foods long distances, factory pollution from processed foods, and a decrease in the use of preservatives and other chemicals that are added to keep food "fresh" for longer periods of time.
We raise our own beef and know exactly the life it has had. We know what it has been fed and if it's been treated with antibiotics (rarely, if ever). It is my goal to go back to the basics in life. I want to continue to eat my own beef and my own raised pork. I am learning about beekeeping so I can have my own honey. I plan to plant and take better care of a vegetable garden (I haven't done very well with that in the past!). I want to get my own chickens this spring and plan to purchase a pastureizer so I can have my own milk to drink from the dairy, my own butter, cream and possibly cheese. Every time I purchase milk in the grocery store, I think to myself, "This is ridicuous. I have 64 dairy cows and I am BUYING milk!!".
With the way the world is going, I think it's in everyone's best interest to become as self sufficient as possible. That's my plan. Want to join me??

Dairy farmers do not dump antibiotics into the food supply

2010-02-08T18:38:00.001-06:00

There is so much misinformation out there. I wish the news media would get their story straight. Who the heck do they get their information from??? How many dairy farmers do you know that dump antibiotics into the bulk tank??? NONE!
Here's the truth: Dairy farmers want their cows to be healthy, but sometimes a cow gets sick and needs to be treated. When that happens, the dairy farmer will give her the appropriate medicine, which may include an antibiotic. However, that cow's milk cannot go into the milk supply until the antibiotic is out of her system. She is milked into a separate container and that milk is tossed. She is tested until her milk does not contain one trace of antibiotic. Only then can the dairy farmer put her milk back into the milk supply. If the farmer accidentally puts her milk in the tank, and that milk contains antibiotic, the WHOLE tank has to be dumped and if the milk accidentally makes it onto the milk truck, the WHOLE truck has to be dumped and the farmer has to pay for all the lost milk.
Some examples of when our cows are given antibiotics: If one of our dairy cows develops mastitis, she is given an antibiotic directly into the teat with a special syringe tip. We give our new moms an antibiotic after calving only if she doesn't get her cleanings out, she gets a twisted stomach and needs surgery, or she develops a fever after calving. And again, her milk must be dumped until she tests clear of the antibiotic. Our calves do not receive antibiotics routinely in their feed. They are only given medication if they are sick. We often consult our vet before giving antibiotics to any of our cows. We do not routinely go around and give them injections "just in case"! So before you believe everything that the news media tells you, for Pete's sake, ask the farmer! We are happy to answer your questions truthfully.

It takes a village to run a dairy

2010-01-27T08:05:00.000-06:00

When my husband and I decided to start a dairy in 2008, we had little to no experience with milk cows. But being the educated people we are, we knew that we could do this with hard work and some expert help. We soon found that it would take a well put together team to assist us in running a successful dairy. We began with the actual project of building the parlor and hoop buildings. It took specialists in construction, concrete, parlor equipment, plumbers and of course my electrician husband and father-in-law. The buildings and parlor went up like a well-oiled machine. As we were building, we had to think about the dairy cows and what their needs were. We researched every article and study we could find that discussed feed, water, bedding, veterinarian care, calf care, hoof trimming, lighting, and even music! (It turns out that the most soothing music for cows is supposed to be classical, but ours seem to like country music!)
We assembled a team of dairy vets and a nutritionist, as well as securing the right kind of sand for bedding. We bought calf huts and built pens for dry moms. We wanted to provide every bit of comfort for our girls. They mean more to us than just work cows and although the current news media is showing the "terrible" things dairy farmers do to their cows, they are not showing the whole truth. We do not dock tails. We do not beat our cows. We do dehorn our calves, but we do it humanely and for their future protection. We give our girls good medical care and never hesitate to call the vet out for a sick cow. We do everything in our power to save a cow and not because she is a worker, but because we care about her. We kiss our little baby calves and talk to them and pet them. My husband, who is the caretaker of the milk cows, talks to them all the time. He told me that if someone walked in while he was milking, they would think he was crazy, because he is in there just talking away to them! I'm proud of the way that we treat our animals. I won't deny that there are dairies and farmers that are inhumane, but you see that in every walk of life, such as human beings being cruel to children, their partners or even strangers. Most dairy farmers know that if you treat the cows mean, they won't produce milk and if they don't produce milk, you don't get paid. We don't treat our cows mean, we don't yell at them, and we do not allow anyone else to do that either, including veterinarians, hoof trimmers or anyone else. You yell or treat our cows mean, and you're out of there! Remember that sensational stories and videos sell more advertising. So before you believe all the hype from the media and the PETA people, ask someone who knows and who is there day in and day out! And if you don't believe me, stop by the farm! We have nothing to hide.

Outrage at the death of a NY dairy farmer

2010-01-24T15:35:00.001-06:00

I have sent the following fax, along with a copy of the above article, to all members of Congress, President Obama, Governor Culver and Secretary Vilsack in hopes that the NY dairy farmer did not die in vain. God bless him, his family and his dairy herd.

Windmill Farm Dairy

Todd & Janice Grimes

21409 138^th Street

Webster, IA 52355-9079

Home: 319-738-2075

Janice’s Cell: 641-660-7020

Email: windmillfarmdairy@gmail.com

I am faxing you a tragic story about a dairy farmer in New York. How many more farmers will take their lives? How many more farmers will go bankrupt?

I am sick and appalled that MY government is allowing the American dairy farmers to suffer to this point of desperation. How can the government value banks and car companies, but let its own food producers drown into bankruptcy or death? I am highly disappointed in the attitude of my elected officials and expect more from you. It is the government’s responsibility to change this situation, since it is the government who sets the monthly federal price for milk.

I know there is a dairy caucus and a dairy committee to look at the situation and I know that the government handed out 250 million dollars to help the farmers. However, that payment did not even begin to help towards digging ourselves out of the hole that we are in. Secretary Vilsack has the legal authority to set the price of milk to the cost of production per U.S. Code TITLE 7 Chapter 26 SUBCHAPTER III 608c 18 (18). I know he is aware of this as Farm Aid, on June 18, 2009, delivered 13,000 petitions signed by dairy farmers asking him to do so. The National Family Farm Coalition sent a letter to him on March 2, 2009 requesting the same thing. Why isn’t he being held accountable to his job? He could save the American dairy farms if he would set the price of milk to production until the government committees and dairy caucus have the time to fix the pricing situation and the Department of Justice can assess and prosecute those companies who are violating the anti-trust laws.

Not only are we getting shafted by the low price of milk, but now the US wants to open up trade with New Zealand, the number one dairy exporter. This is a slap in our face. The USDA has the nerve to create the “Know your farmer – know your food” initiative and then encourage and support the importation of milk and MPCs from other countries. It is impossible to know your food if it comes from another country and it will soon be impossible to know your farmer as they go bankrupt – one by one. The initiative sounds good for the USDA but is really just a scam to make the American people feel more comfortable about their food supply.

Winter will be over soon and it will be time for the dairy farmer to plant his crops to feed his cows. The banks are backing off of lending money and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get an operator’s loan.

The dairy farmer gets up early every morning, day after day, no matter the weather or the circumstances and milks his cows. There is no vacation or holiday from milking. Perhaps as you eat and drink your dairy products you should consider the work that went into just obtaining the milk from the cow.

As an elected official, I suggest you take a long hard look at what is really going on in rural America and think about that poor man shooting 51 cows in the head and then taking his own life. It’s an ugly picture isn’t it? If you agree with that statement, then do something about it before it happens again.

Janice Grimes

Carnation milk: now a product of Mexico

2009-11-03T14:56:00.002-06:00

Dairy farmers needed to go to DC

2009-11-03T13:24:00.000-06:00

Invitation for "Dairy Does D.C. in December"

When: Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009

Where: Washington, D.C.

Who: All Dairy Crisis Interested Parties (farmers, Holstein Association USA, FoodDemocracy Now, Food and Water Watch, Food Declaration, National Family Farm Coalition, Chambers of Commerce, Land Trusts, National Farmers Union, Pro-Ag, Family Farm Defenders, Moms Rising, FFA, agribusiness, financing sectors, students, consumers, Slow Food USA)

Why: To have a coast-to-coast, coordinated effort and steadfast presence to gain national attention and meet with our state representatives. Washington D.C. does not understand that the dairy economy is hovering on the brink of collapse. There has never been a better time to send someone from your farm or family to D.C. to deliver a firm message calling for action to secure a future in dairy farming instead of a financial collapse.
Why Background:

Dairy farmers know their dues-taking organizations are not acting with conviction for them – the dues-paying members.

Who is coming with us? RSVP Sun., Nov. 8 Want to learn more? Please email us.

RSVP or learn more by contacting, Bryan Gotham, blcgotham@yahoo.com. Find him on Facebook too.

Background:

A conference call of over 40 dairy crisis interested individuals from coast to coast occurred on Monday, Nov. 2 to discuss Dairy Does D.C. in December. This invitation is to find out who wants to go. After we have gauged the interest at end of day Sunday, Nov. 8, we will have another planning conference call on Nov. 9. Below is the draft framework of tasks.

Steps with Tasks and Goals

1. Measure participation interest in Dairy does D.C. in December to occur Wed., December 2nd. Planning will halt if response is weak.

2. Establish state leaders to organize buses and fundraising for bus expense. New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia organizers will provide guidance as they did this back in July.

3. Goal: 1 bus from each of the 23 major dairy states. This would be over 1000 farmers. Consumers are also encourage to go.

4. Set-up appointments with representatives for Wed., December 2, 2009

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Tammy Graves

gravesarborgraphics@yahoo.com

315-858-0163

Our babies

2009-11-01T18:20:00.000-06:00

There's nothing better than a baby calf. They are so sweet and playful. They are our future. We keep the girls and sell the boys. That is the hard part of dairying. If we could keep everything, we would! Here are some of our new calves. They're a bunch of cuties and I love taking care of them!

Skippy

2009-10-17T18:20:00.000-05:00

This is Skippy.

I love to see her standing there so proudly.

About 2 months after the arrival of our herd, Skippy was somehow injured. We believe that she had an injury to her tibial nerve in both back legs. She could barely stand and when she was standing she shook and quivered. Both her back hock joints were overflexed. It was terrible. We had three different vets who came and looked at her and they all agreed that the prognosis was not good. Skippy was a young cow. I just couldn't bear the thought that we would have to put her down. So Todd and I dried her off and moved her to the dry cow lot. For weeks on end, I would put her food and water directly in front of her so she could eat without having to walk. I would stand guard over her so the other dry cows couldn't get her food. Gradually, Skippy began to stand longer and although her two back hock joints remained overflexed, she seemed to be less stressed as she stood. Eventually Skippy could walk over to the bunk and eat on her own. Eight months after her injury, Skippy could stand normally and could even run and jump around. Today, her back legs are perfectly normal and she is now bred. It was worth the time it took me to hand feed her every morning and night. I never gave up on her and I am so glad! This is the kind of love and caring that dairy farmers have for their cows. We treat them humanely and with tender loving care and sometimes in the end, it pays off.

Making apple cider

2009-10-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

One of the joys of having grandchildren, is seeing the world through their eyes. Yesterday, we went to Grandma and Granddad's house to make apple cider with "Sherpa". She had so much fun and seeing how "apple juice" was made was magical!

All politicians should get involved: Hear that Iowa Reps???

2009-10-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

Bill Owens Milks It »

By Elizabeth Benjamin

NY-23 Democratic nominee Bill Owens is out with his third ad of the special election campaign, which focuses on concerns of upstate dairy farmers and ominously declares that "somebody's price fixing" when it comes to the cost of milk.

Along with the ad, Owens released a statement announcing he is joining Sen. Chuck Schumer's call for an investigation into why dairy farmers are getting paid less and less for their milk as consumers are paying more and more.

The spot employs some sure-fire crowd pleasers - cute cow close-ups, a plain-spoken farmer named "Sam," a catchy twist to the well-known "Got Milk?" campaign - to address an issue that is a top priority for rural New Yorkers.

It also features Owens, a businessman, in jeans and a plaid shirt, walking around a farm and looking like an ordinary guy.

Interesting to note: The Democrats' preferred candidate, Sen. Darrel Aubertine, is a former dairy farmer (seventh generation) who made his rural roots the focus of his 2008 campaign for the 48th SD, which created a stark contrast with the GOP candidate, Assemblyman Will Barclay, who comes from a well-to-do family.

The 49th SD special election had overtones of class warfare. It would be hard to see that happening here, since both Owens and the Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman are pretty well off - especially by NY-23 standards - although Hoffman is considerably more so.

The Republican nominee, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who filed her financial disclosure form well before her opponents, isn't exactly hurting, either, although she perhaps hasn't had the best of luck with investments.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/10/bill-owens-milks-it.html

McDonald's and imported beef

2009-10-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

There's a "rumor" going around the internet that McDonald's imports beef. I have emailed them and this is their response:

Hello Janice:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's. We appreciate this opportunity to share the following information with you.
McDonald's is one of the world's largest purchasers of U.S. beef, and where possible, our preference is to always purchase locally and domestically. Each year, McDonald's purchases nearly one billion pounds of beef from U.S. producers. Our commitment to the U.S. agriculture industry stands stronger than ever.
Due to a well-documented shortage of lean beef in the U.S., and to meet the needs of our customers, we currently only purchase a relatively small percentage of high quality imported lean beef from New Zealand and Australia. We do this to supplement our domestic beef purchases.
Additionally, this beef is subject to our stringent guidelines and USDA inspection. The beef is inspected both as it leaves Australia and New Zealand and again when it enters the U.S. The amount of beef from Australia and New Zealand that enters the U.S. is governed by a strict quota system. McDonald's opposes any change in the current quota.McDonald's has the highest standards for food quality and food safety (including feed certification) in the business, and uses only those products that meet or exceed our highest standards. We have been and will continue to play a leadership role in setting food safety and quality guidelines for the entire industry to follow. It's what McDonald's is known for around the world, and we will never compromise these standards. Suppliers in Australia and New Zealand are subject to the same standards we have in place here in the U.S.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us for the facts. Your trust and satisfaction is very important to us. We value you as a customer and hope that you will give us another opportunity to serve you soon under the Golden Arches.
Lisa
McDonald's Customer Response Center
ref#:6370757"

My reply back:

I'm sorry, but the price of beef in the US is on the low side, as there is not a shortage of beef in the US. I (and many others) would like to know where you get your information that there is a shortage of beef. As you know, there are many rumors going around the internet about McDonald's and I think you better address this quickly. I am a dairy farmer and the Cooperatives Working Together has been slaughtering perfectly good dairy cows by the hundreds of thousands. I know that McDonald's has purchased Holsteins in the past. Therefore, I do not see where there would be a shortage. I will contact my legislators and the USDA to see if there is an issue about the shortage of beef in the US. The USDA and the Federal Government just launched a program called "know your food, know your farmer" and I do not believe that the American people want their food imported from other countries.

I guess if anyone has an issue with this, they should email McDonald's also.

Call To Action!

2009-09-27T10:36:00.003-05:00

Help Save America’s Dairy Farmers!

Milk prices collapse to 1970 levels! Farmers Facing Great Depression Crisis!

America

’s remaining 59,000 dairy farmers are facing an unprecedented economic crisis. Tens of thousands of independent producers are at risk of losing their livelihoods if this crisis remains ignored, while consumers across the country risk having no local sources of fresh dairy products. Rural landscapes will be threatened as more dairy farms exit the industry. Already reports of farm suicides are on the rise.

BACKGROUND: Since 1980, as a result of President Reagan deregulating the price of milk, we have lost over 80% of our dairy farmers. Dairy farmers have faced a volatile roller-coaster in milk pricing, causing entire regions of the country to now lack local fresh dairy products while factory dairy farms proliferate in Texas and New Mexico, shipping their milk thousands of miles away.

CURRENT SITUATION: Milk prices have now dropped below 1970s level, not even accounting for inflation! Can most of us imagine living off the salary we made in 1970 without factoring increased costs of living? Farmers are receiving less than $12.00 for a hundredweight of milk that costs $18-30 to produce! Meanwhile, profits for Dean Foods, the largest fluid milk corporation and Kraft Foods have skyrocketed. Organic dairy farmers have not been spared either from this crisis as many have lost their contracts or seen their prices slashed as well.

WHAT’S BEHIND THE CRISIS: While some voices claim a lack of demand for dairy products and oversupply of milk is behind the price collapse, dairy farmers blame a corrupt pricing system easily manipulated by corporations and a flood of imported milk protein concentrates (MPCs) displacing U.S. farmers milk. Food companies are continually pressing the FDA to allow MPCs to be labeled as real “milk” in cheese, ice cream and other dairy products! The U.S. has actually been a dairy-deficit nation the past 10 years and not producing enough to meet our needs here.

The dairy industry has undergone enormous corporate consolidation so that dairy cooperatives such as Dairy Farmers of America and Land ‘OLakes no longer represent their farmer-members and are aligned instead with Dean Foods and Kraft. Independent dairy farmers no longer have any choice about where to sell their milk. The Department of Justice in 2005 launched an investigation looking into antitrust, anti-competive abuses in the dairy industry. Political pressure in the Bush Administration meant the findings were never made public.

For more information:

National Family Farm Coalition, nffc.net, (202) 543-5675

Food & Water Watch, Dairy 101 Report: www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/pubs/reports/dairy-101

It's been one year

2009-09-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

We've been in the dairy business for exactly one year and what a year it has been! I will never forget the day our girls arrived from Illinois. They were milked in the morning and then trucked 4 hours to our farm. We monitored their trip progress by phone and were notified when they were just passing Iowa City. Todd, his parents and I had everthing ready. The sand was freshly placed in the stalls, the water troughs were ready and we filled the bunk with fresh hay. It was like getting ready for company! We watched and watched the gravel road leading to our house for the first signs of them. Finally we saw the dust flying and the two semi's turn the corner. I was taking pictures like crazy. I will never forget the feeling of excitement as they pulled into our driveway. Our very own herd had arrived and we were ready to love them and take care of them as if they were our new pets. I know that some people think that cows are just animals. But to us, they were (and are) our future.
As the drivers talked with my husband about the details of unloading, I walked around the trucks talking to the girls and telling them not to be afraid because they were finally "home".
The unloading part was a little scary as they ran down the ramp and a few would take a flying leap when they reached the bottom. I didn't want those pregnant Moms jumping around! They immediately went for the hay.

Around 4 PM, the people who had put in our parlor, helped us fire it up and bring the cows in to be milked. That was quite an ordeal the first time! We were nervous. They were nervous. But we finished up the milking without incident. My husband and I didn't want to leave the building that night. We were worried about what they were doing and if they were OK. We went to bed late that night and arose early to begin our new life as dairy farmers and we love it!

Jersey Girl and Jena Girl

2009-09-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

We bought our Holsteins as a complete herd. The broker who was keeping them for us called and asked if we wanted five more cows, one of which was a Jersey Holstein mix. We needed more cows, so we said yes. Jersey Girl is the cutest! She has these funny shaped teeth so when she looks at you, you can see them. It looks like she is grinning and her dentures are showing! It's comical. She is a very gentle cow and is one of the reasons our butterfat is so high. She came to us pregnant and we couldn't wait to see her baby. Jena girl was born in July. She was so small! She looks like a baby deer. Jersey is a milking fool now (my husband's words). Her bag is so huge and she is so short that we have to detach the milker and prop it on the floor underneath her! These are two cows we dearly love.

Out of desperation

2009-09-13T13:38:00.002-05:00

OK.....I just finished seeing the movie Julia & Julie. The power of blogging saved Julie. I also just read an article on CNN where a homeless woman was saved and has turned her life around from blogging. So I decided, that if blogging could do that for others, then it could do it for me. I decided that I would show pictures of our cows and tell a little story behind the picture. I also added a donation button to my site. People can donate one dollar (or whatever they want), via Paypal, to help us save our cows. Times have been really bad lately and we are barely hanging on. I figure every little bit helps and I will do (and am doing) everything I can to save our girls. They are not just our farm animals. We love each and every one of them and appreciate the hard work they do to keep our farm going. We provide the best comfort and food we can for them and it would devastate us to lose them. Therefore, I am not going down without a fight!! So, if you are so inclined to donate one dollar for our girls, we will do our very best to continue to hang on. I hope you enjoy the stories!!

new tactic

2009-09-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

OK...with the help of my dear sister-in-law, my new correspondence to US senators, Vilsack and Obama is being sent in German. That way, I am certain someone will read it since they will need someone to translate it first!! Wish I could see the look on their faces!

Elsie the Cow

2009-09-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

OK...This website says that DFA is "100% farmer owned. That means 100% of our proceeds go back to American Dairy Farmers." OK...now if DFA makes a HUGE profit, then that means 100 % of that HUGE profit goes to us - the members. How come we received about 56.00??????

Our Dairy Story

2009-09-09T10:20:00.002-05:00

My name is Janice Grimes and my husband Todd and I live in Webster, Iowa. We, like other dairy farmers, are struggling to stay afloat. The price of milk has decreased so much that we went from being able to pay all our bills, to losing about $5000.00 each month. We have cashed in our retirements and life insurance policies. We’ve borrowed more money from the bank to continue operating and I was forced to return to work off the farm. This has left my husband to do all the milking by himself and it has taken a toll on us. We are living from day to day, not sure if we will go bankrupt and lose our farm, our home, and Todd’s parents’ house, which is also part of the farm. Our closest dairy friends are barely hanging on and we lean on each other for moral support. Last week, one of our dairy friends filed for bankruptcy and three other local dairy farms have also been lost due to the crisis. We couldn’t sell out even if we wanted as dairy cows are worth practically nothing at the market.

The USDA has tried to help by instituting the MILC program. However, the MILC rate is based on the Boston Milk price. The Boston price is the highest in the country and although an adjustment is made for feed costs, it still only adds about 1000.00 to our income. It is simply not enough to ward off bankruptcy.
The lack of money is now having a trickling down effect and there is loss of income and business to local veterinarians, hoof trimmers, dairy supply stores, milk haulers and feed mills.

I have been doing everything I personally can to bring attention to this crisis and to try and enlist the help of our government officials. I have written to every member of the Senate Agricultural Subcommittee, Secretary Vilsack, President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Iowa Governor Chet Culver and members of the newly formed Dairy Caucus. I have received little, if any, response.

We had a glimmer of hope when the Senate Ag committee began to hold hearings on the dairy crisis. However, I was very disappointed in the speakers that provided the testimony. Where was the testimony from the dairy farmers? The dairy farmers that did testify were tied to large companies, the Farm Bureau or end processors. I read and heard that cooperatives and processors reported the following:
• There are too many cows producing milk, thus there is an oversupply.
• It’s too late to help the small dairy farmer
• It is better to do nothing now and allow the market to find equilibrium.
• The price support program should be eliminated as it is a burden to everyone

The local dairy farmer is LOSING money every day. However, the price of milk has not decreased that much in the store. We KNOW that someone is making a huge profit and it is NOT US. It has to be the cooperatives or the processors, so why would the very people who are making money be testifying to the ag committee?
We want our voices heard. The testimony pointed out above does not represent us and is not in our best interest. The cooperatives and the processors (creameries) are looking out for themselves at our expense.
We would like Congress to adopt the following:
• Double the MILC rate being paid to dairy farmers and make it retroactive to March as suggested by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
• STOP the importation of milk products (milk protein concentrates) from other countries!! If the processors and cooperatives really want us to believe there is an oversupply of milk, then why are they importing it??
• Secretary Vilsack has the legal authority to set the price of milk to the cost of production per U.S. Code TITLE 7 Chapter 26 SUBCHAPTER III 608c 18 (18). I know he is aware of this as Farm Aid, on June 18, 2009, delivered 13,000 petitions signed by dairy farmers asking him to do so. The National Family Farm Coalition sent a letter to him on March 2, 2009 requesting the same thing. We would like Secretary Vilsack to set the price of milk to production until the government can look into the situation and see what is truly going on with the market price.
• Have Congress, the agricultural subcommittee or the dairy caucus look at long term reform for the dairy industry

I am sick and appalled that dairy farmers are committing suicide. I am saddened that the CWT program is sending hundreds of thousands of dairy cows to slaughter in an effort to decrease the number of cows in the system. This program is NOT working.

Dairy farmers are an important part of this nation’s food supply. If the dairy industry collapses, it will affect all Americans. Dairy farms simply cannot continue to lose thousands of dollars every month.
I’ve heard this crisis referred to as the “perfect storm”. For my husband and me, it has been the “perfect hurricane”. We will not be able to survive much longer. We need emergency assistance now (and we are talking weeks, not months). We cannot wait for “future” programs to be developed. Without immediate help, we will lose everything we have worked all our lives for – our farm, our home and our most important concern, our dairy cows who we birth, bottle feed, nurture, medically treat and provide comfort for in the hopes that the milk they produce will provide a living for us and will enter the American food system for all who consume dairy products.

Letter to DFA from Gary Genske

2009-09-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

http://cowsandcrops.com/docs/Dairy/Genske_DFA%209-3-09.PDF

Way to go! Great Letter!

Sweet Pea

2009-09-08T08:48:00.000-05:00

When our cows first arrived, there was one who stood out from the rest. She was a beautiful Holstein that was so friendly. The cows came numbered and she was # 5. She must have been a show cow. She was so gentle and friendly. We named her Sweet Pea. She loved to have her head and neck rubbed. She'd walk up to my husband and lay her head on his shoulder so he could rub her. She was a dominant cow and bossed around the others. She had a mind of her own and did everything on her own time. She was always the last cow to come in to be milked. I think she wanted to be last because she got extra attention that way. If we had a new mom or a problem cow, we would always put Sweet Pea beside her to calm her down.
I guess you are wondering why I talk about her in the past tense. That's because one day, several months after they cows arrived, we went up to milk and Sweet Pea would not get up out of her stall. We tried and tried and finally my husband was able to get her up but she was really unsteady on her feet. My husband and I were horrified. Not Sweet Pea. Of the 74 cows we had, Sweet Pea COULD NOT be injured or sick. We immediately put her in the maternity pen to keep her off the concrete and to keep her safe. She wouldn't lay down at all. She stood for an entire night. We knew she was injured. Finally the next day she laid down and that was the last time we could get her up. We had several vets come and see her, we gave her medicines, and we fed her by hand. We did this day after day. We just couldn't let her go. Finally on day 10, she looked at us with her big brown eyes and seemed to say it was time. We had the vet come out and put her down. We were devastated. She was only a part of our herd for a couple of months, but we were so attached to her. We wish we knew how she got injured and we wish we could have saved her. We still talk about her and we miss her. We wonder if we will ever have another cow like her. She touched our lives in the few months she was here and it's incredible how much we loved her.
We miss you dear Sweet Pea!

Our herd was meant for us.

2009-09-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

I have been traveling the past few days through northern Iowa into Minnesota. It's been awhile since my husband and I have traveled anywhere. In fact it's been almost a year. Our last trip was to Illinois to buy our herd. We were so excited and so nervous. We found them in an ad in the Spokesman. They had been milked on a farm near Peoria, Illinois. They were milked by a man and his wife. The man's wife suddenly died and the man was so distraught that he couldn't continue to milk and take care of them. His friends stepped in and sold his whole herd to a broker. The cows were trucked several hours in May of 2008 to an auction barn where they stayed until we purchased them. I don't know why the broker kept them so long. He had a milking facility at his business and he and his wife continued to milk the cows. The previous owner's only request was that they be sold as a herd. Finally, in mid-August, the broker put an ad in The Spokesman. We were almost finished our brand new facility. We were nervous about finding a herd. We didn't want to look too soon because if we found one, we might not be finished and the alternative to that was that we would be finished and not have any cows to milk.
Anyway, we traveled 4 hours to Illinois. We arrived in time for the evening milking. We had no experience as dairy farmers. We had been milking intermittently with one of our dairy friends who gave us huge amounts of information on what to look for in a dairy cow. Our first impression was that they were not the herd for us. We were worried about a few cows who looked lame. We had almost no information on them. They had been preg checked by the broker's vet and we had delivery dates on them. But that was about it! We knew the amount of milk they put out because the broker had been milking them. After the evening milking, we felt better. They seemed to be such a gentle herd. By the next morning we decided to buy them. The broker agreed to keep them for another 3 weeks until the facility was completely finished. They arrived in two semi's on September 22, 2008. It was a wonderful and scary day..but that's another story!

importing cows

2009-08-27T08:33:00.000-05:00

Our friend Danny has the CWT program people coming to his dairy farm today to tag his cows and send them to slaughter. It sickens me. Isn't anyone outraged that perfectly good dairy cows, including bred heifers are being killed? And then I find this on the internet:

http://www.dairyline.com/HeiferImportUpdate.htm

Canadian Dairy Breeding Female Imports

Week ending: Weekly Total 2009 Cumulative Total
January 3 64 64
January 10 123 187
January 17 165 352
January 24 136 488
January 31 226 714
February 6 49 763
February 14 170 933
February 21 170 1,103
February 28 151 1,254
March 7 125 1,379
March 14 198 1.577
March 21 410 1,987
March 28 497 2,484
April 4 458 2,942
April 11 431 3,373
April 18 417 3,790
April 25 277 4,067
May 2 638 4,705
May 9 475 5,180
May 16 407 5,587
May 23 273 5,860
May 30 216 6,076
June 5 271 6,347
June 13 137 6,484
June 20 155 6,639
June 27 2 6,641
July 5 46 6,687
July 11 2 6,689
July 18 311 7,000
July 25 7 7,007
August 1 2 7,009
August 8 8 7,017

Canadian Dairy Breeding Female Imports

Week ending: Weekly Total 2008 Cumulative Total
December 27 48 45,386
December 20 186 45,338
December 13 314 45,152
December 6 379 44,838
November 29 273 44,459
November 22 592 44,186
November 15 491 43,594
November 8 763 43,103
November 1 347 42,340
October 25 467 41,993
October 18 415 41,526
October 11 324 41,111
October 4 319 40,787
September 27 410 40,468
September 20 274 40,058
September 13 424 39,784
September 6 570 39,360
August 30 491 38,790
August 23 467 38,299
August 16 699 37,832
August 9 566 37,133
August 2 640 36,567
July 26 545 35,927
July 19 726 35,382
July 12 507 34,656
July 5 875 34,149
June 28 651 33,274
June 21 894 32,623
June 14 1,133 31,729
June 7 1,533 30,596
May 31 833 29,063
May 24 1,376 28,230
May 17 1,721 26,854
May 10 1,262 25,133
May 3 1,403 23,871
April 19 1,047 21,315
April 12 1,181 20,268
April 5 1,281 19,087
March 29 1,136 17,806
March 22 1,540 16,670
March 15 1,344 15,130
March 8 1,200 13,786
March 1 1,252 12,586

We are actually IMPORTING dairy cows from Canada.
Why???????????????????????
Let's see...we're slaughtering cows and then importing cows.
Isn't someone looking into this?
I'm sick of it all.

Visit from KCRG

2009-08-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

Josh Baynes from KCRG accepted an invitation to come and visit our dairy farm. Here is a link to his story:

http://www.kcrg.com/blog/farmerjosh

Letter to Mr. Craig Lang re: testimony to Senate Ag Committee

2009-08-23T17:40:00.000-05:00

Mr. Lang,

As a fellow dairy farmer and a member of the Farm Bureau, I was appalled at the testimony you provided to the U.S. House Agricultural Subcommittee. You started out talking like a dairy farmer and then turned into a bureaucrat. You contradicted yourself many times. Your testimony began with your story of being a fifth generation farmer and how your sons could choose other professions, but prefer to dairy farm. You appear sympathetic and empathetic for all dairy farmers when you describe how you, as other dairy farmers, have depleted all cash reserves and are now relying on a bank line of credit.

My husband and I own a small dairy operation in Webster, IA. We have 75 cows and milk 64. We, like other dairy farmers, are struggling to stay afloat. The price of milk has decreased so much that we went from being able to pay all our bills, to losing about $5000.00 each month. We have cashed in our retirements and life insurance policies. We’ve borrowed more money from the bank to continue operating and I was forced to return to work off the farm. This has left my husband to do all the milking by himself and it has taken a toll on us. We are living from day to day, not sure if we will go bankrupt and lose our farm, our home, and Todd’s parents’ house, which is also part of the farm. Our closest dairy friends are barely hanging on and we lean on each other for moral support. Last week, one of our dairy friends filed for bankruptcy and three other local dairy farms have also been lost due to the crisis. We couldn’t sell out even if we wanted as dairy cows are worth practically nothing at the market.
Although the USDA has tried to help by instituting the MILC program, the MILC rate is based on the Boston Milk price. This is simply a joke. The Boston price is the highest in the country and although an adjustment is made for feed costs, it still only adds about 1000.00 to our income. It is simply not enough to ward off bankruptcy. The lack of money is now having a trickling down effect and there is loss of income to local businesses, including hoof trimmers, veterinarians, dairy supply stores, feed mills and milk haulers.

We had a glimmer of hope when the Senate Ag committee began to hold hearings on the dairy crisis. However, the Committee admitted they were confused by the mixed messages they received about the cause of the situation and the solution to the problem.

I was very disappointed and disgusted at your testimony. As President of the Farm Bureau, I expect you to advocate for all dairy farmers and you did not. You were looking out for your own best interest as a large dairy farmer and you hurt the smaller dairy farmers.

Here are the issues I had with your testimony:

“We support and encourage the use of CWT”

The Farm Bureau advocates for the CWT program and yet you admit that this program is not working because hundreds of thousands of more cows need to be removed from the system. I am sick and appalled that dairy cows, including bred heifers, are needlessly being sent to slaughter. You seem to go along with the story that there is an “oversupply” of milk. I believe this is a tale that cooperatives and end processors have invented to justify paying farmers half the price they used to. If there is an oversupply of milk, then why import it? If there is an oversupply, then why isn’t milk dirt cheap in the stores? The law of supply and demand states in a competitive market, price will function to equalize the quantity demanded by consumers and the quantity supplied by producers, resulting in an economic equilibrium of price and quantity. An increase in the quantity produced or supplied will typically result in a reduction in price and vice-versa. Milk is still relatively high priced in the stores. The only person not making the money off the price of milk in the stores is the farmer. It's either the coops or the processors that are making the money and if you look at Dean's Foods profit margin for the last quarter, they're doing pretty well. If you really believe that there are too many cows in the dairy system, then why are you increasing your herd?

Farm Bureau supports the MILC program but “oppose discrimination against large producers in the MILC program”

Is the reason you, as President of the Farm Bureau, oppose this discrimination have to do with the fact that your farm produces 35,000 pounds of milk per day and your “family farm” wants to produce more?

Farm Bureau supports a “continuation of the dairy price support program at the current level” because Farm Bureau believes that if support prices are increased, this has the “strong potential to send the wrong signal to the market to increase or at least maintain, rather than to decrease production.”

Again, this coming from a farmer who proudly ships 35,000 pounds per day and is increasing his herd.

Lastly, you go on to say that Farm Bureau basically doesn’t want the government to step in and help the dairy industry because to help high-cost producers might produce a windfall for the low cost producers.

How can you admit that your farm is losing $3.00 per CWT and at the same time ask the Senate Ag Committee to do nothing? How dare you testify that “producers are facing significant income loss and all of them may not survive financially.” That would benefit your farm, wouldn’t it? If the smaller farms go under, then that fixes the problem of supply and demand. Again, I believe you were looking out for your own best interests and not the interests of ALL dairy farmers.

I have spoken to many dairy farmers that were present during your testimony and you have angered many farmers across the country. I have received multiple emails wanting to know who that “idiot from Iowa” was who testified against us. How am I supposed to respond to that?

You started out your testimony as a dairy farmer; you then proceeded to protect your own dairy operation under the guise as President of the Farm Bureau. I want you to know that you DID NOT represent me as a member of the Farm Bureau and you DID NOT represent me as a fellow dairy farmer

You should be ashamed of yourself for looking out for your own best interests. I have written to EVERY member of the Ag committee, dairy caucus, my state representatives and President Obama and have explained that your testimony did not represent me. I will continue to advocate for the rest of us and it is my intention to find out how the Farm Bureau could allow an atrocity such as this against their own members.

Janice Grimes

CC: President Obama

Tom Harkin

Saxby Chambliss
Patrick J. Leahy
Richard G. Lugar

Kent Conrad
Thad Cochran

Max Baucus
Mitch McConnell

Blanche Lincoln
Pat Roberts

Debbie Stabenow
Mike Johanns

E. Benjamin Nelson
Charles Grassley

Sherrod Brown
John Thune

Robert Casey, Jr.
John Cornyn

Amy Klobuchar
Michael Bennet
Kirsten Gillibrand

David Scott
Jim Costa

Randy Neugebauer
Bob Goodlatte

Secretary Tom Vilsack

Rep. Peter Welch
Rep. Joe Courtney
Rep. Thomas Rooney
Rep. Chris Lee
Rep. Harry Teague
Rep. Michael Arcuri
Rep. Tammy Baldwin
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett
Rep. John Boccieri
Rep. Leonard Boswell
Rep. Allen Boyd
Rep. Henry Brown
Rep. Dave Camp
Rep. Dennis Cardoza
Rep. Chris Carney
Rep. Mike Conaway
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper
Rep. Rosa DeLauro
Rep. John Hall
Rep. Wally Herger
Rep. Brian Higgins

Rep. Maurice Hinchey
Rep. Paul Hodes
Rep. Steve Kagen
Rep. Ron Kind
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick
Rep. Rick Larsen
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan
Rep. Dan Maffei
Rep. Betsy Markey
Rep. Eric Massa
Rep. Michael Michaud
Rep. Walt Minnick
Rep. Chris Murphy
Rep. Scott Murphy
Rep. Devin Nunes
Rep. Jim Oberstar
Rep. John Olver
Rep. Tom Perriello
Rep. Thomas Petri
Rep. Chellie Pingree
Rep. Adam Putnam
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez
Rep. Mike Rogers
Rep. Mark Schauer
Rep. Joe Sestak
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter
Rep. Bill Shuster
Rep. Mike Simpson
Rep. Louise Slaughter
Rep. Glenn Thompson
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Timothy Walz
Rep. Lynn Woolsey

New Blog

2009-08-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

As if I don't have enough to do, I have decided to also blog! You can follow me on Twitter: "windmillfarm". I am currently doing everything I can to advocate for all dairy farmers (including my own farm)! I am sick and appalled at the effect the dairy crisis is having on families and their lives. I have been doing everything I personally know how to do to help bring attention to this issue. I have been on a letter writing campaign to state and federal legislators. I am currently collecting any personal stories about how the dairy crisis is affecting your family, your farm or your community. My goal is to get 100 stories and then fax them in one big fax to Vilsack, Obama and state senators and representatives. If you have a story to tell, email it to me at windmillfarmdairy@gmail.com. If you have a digital picture, send that too! We have to put our faces on this dairy crisis and let the government know the havoc and devastation this is causing us. Help me by adding your voice to this cause. I will not let my farm go without a fight!