Dairy Farmers Discuss Hurdles and Opportunities

 Doug Caroll from Ryan, Iowa and Audrey Donahoe from Frankfort, N.Y., joined Flory and I during the Farmer Forum on AgriTalk. 

Caroll and his wife, Jamie, along with sons Brent and Brady, milk 140 cows in a double-six herringbone parlor and grow 400 acres of corn, oats and hay. The Caroll family ships their milk to AMPI. Caroll shared that this past summer when milk plants got full, they were challenged with finding another home for their milk.

“That was a challenge this summer during June and July. It was hard finding that market for the milk, especially when we didn't have those processing plants running at full capacity,” he said, sharing that milk is being moved longer distances, stating it’s not uncommon for milk to be moved hundreds of miles. 

Donahoe milks 200 cows with her husband, Jeff. Audrey is a sixth-generation farmer and has been featured on a reality show and with Oprah Winfrey. She serves as president of the American Dairy Association Northeast and is the chair of the National Dairy Council.

With razor-thin margins, Donahoe shared that her farm has dove into diversification, growing extra crops, selling straw and hay, and dabbling with selling some beef on the farm. 

“I'm producing milk and I'm selling beef as well,” she says. “I love having the dairy farm, so you do whatever else you have to do to make sure that that works.”

Opportunities Ahead

While volatility has been around the dairy economy for decades, producers have gotten smarter on how to add dollars to their bottom line away from just selling milk. That often means they are capitalizing on alternative profit sources. While risk still remains, more conversations are unfolding on the farm with owners, as well as with outside team members.

Donohoe shared that her son wants to continue on the family farm.

“So, we do what we can do to make sure that that's going to happen for him,” she says. 

Carroll shared that despite the rollercoaster dairy economy, at the end of the day, dairy farmers make a terrific, nutritious product.

“On the checkoff side, we're looking at the health of milk. We knew we had a superior product. Now we're proving that we have a superior product,” he said.

Donahoe said from her standpoint, as the Chair of the National Dairy Council, she sees firsthand that the research is working.

“In the development within these programs that we have made partners with as far as from the health professionals and the School Nutrition Association, the Pediatrics Association and so much more,” she shared.

To listen to the entire conversation of the Farmer Forum, click on https://omny.fm/shows/agritalk/agritalk-10-4-23-dairy-farmer-forum-1