Sad Day for Maine Organic Milk (time)

[Maine Writer]

State dairy farms seek organic options - Bangor Daily News (http://www.bangornews.com/detail/101201.html - broken link)

[BrokenTap]

I can see why Hood made the decision to drop them though. The transportation costs from those areas to Bangor for 7000 gallons of milk per WEEK had to be high. I mean that is not even a full truckload...for a weeks worth of milk. With its quick expiration date, milk has to be picked up every other day so its not something that can dwell in a collected tank somewhere for days until the tank is filled. It just shows that farms have to get bigger in order for everything to pencil out.

To put this in contrast, we kick 4000 gallons of milk from ONE farm PER DAY! Even then we must get bigger too or we are not going to make it.

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

It just shows that farms have to get bigger in order for everything to pencil out.

Some do, some don't, that statement is too broad. Not understanding how small farms can be as profitable as large farms doesn't mean it's not so.

[CabinCritter]

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

I was allergic to milk as a kid but quickly out grew it when I was two years old. How it affects people is very different. Some are lactose intolerant of raw milk, while some are intolerant of pasteurized milk. Some are intolerant of the sugar in processed milk, while others are intolerant of higher bacteria counts.

Over the years though a lot has changed in the milking parlors of modern farms. We get bonuses for low bacteria counts and its not just doing one thing that gets these counts down...it is doing a lot of things right in every step of the process. From clean stalls to medical grade iodine placed on the teats of cows prior to milking.

For us, it is paying off. We are a Gold Star farm which means we are consistently low all year long. We can go lower of course, but overall we are very low. It's a lot of work, but overall it is worth it. I drink a lot of milk too.

Bonuses for low bacteria counts? I thought one of the greatest benefits of raw milk was all the live bacteria in it. Is that for bad bacteria like pathogens, E-coli and the bunch? Sorry, I just don't know much about milk other than raw is very good so I'm trying to understand this. I read a study awhile back that said animals raised on grass, no hormones, no antibiotics, no chemicals, etc.....basically healthy..... produced milk that instinctively fought off and was resistant to the bad pathogens. It basically said there was nothing bad in the milk of these types of animals versus animals in their own manure, hormones, all kinds of injections, etc....

So I'm guessing you treat your animals in a healthy manner therefore you have better quality milk with very low if any nasties in it. Would that be the right understanding of what you wrote? And yes, I over analyse many things to a fault sometimes so if you can bare with me.

[boiselover]

sad to here but can many folks afford it with the low pay and high cost of living up there? organic milk here in california runs about $5-6 a gallon is it like that in maine? Most of the time I don't notice a taste sadly but some of it does legitimately taste better. I couldn't get this article despite some searching. I did find an interesting video on raising goats for milk a very niche thing to do but interesting

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by boiselover

sad to here but can many folks afford it with the low pay and high cost of living up there? organic milk here in california runs about $5-6 a gallon is it like that in maine? Most of the time I don't notice a taste sadly but some of it does legitimately taste better. I couldn't get this article despite some searching. I did find an interesting video on raising goats for milk a very niche thing to do but interesting

I am from California, I have been a home-owner in California.

When you speak about the high Cost-Of-Living "up there", where are you thinking?



I have not drank cow milk for many years, I have no idea what it costs. I know a few dairymen here in Maine, those I know prefer to make and market artisan cheeses.

[boiselover]

maine was (up there). High cost of living in terms of your utilities and low wages. california is expensive but you can make more money here also. What made you leave california and how long ago? Retired?

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by boiselover

maine was (up there). High cost of living in terms of your utilities and low wages. california is expensive but you can make more money here also. What made you leave california and how long ago? Retired?

High COL is high, low COL is low. COL is not changed by your wages. How you experience it may be different based on your income, but the COL remains the same.

A region where everyone makes low wages, causes the COL to be much lower. Likewise any city that pays high wages, will generally have a high COL. I have lived in many places. This is our fifth home. My employer bounced me around a lot. I have experienced high COLs and low COLs. The two are completely different.

A $500k home that costs you $10,000 a year in taxes, is one thing when your making $250k/year. It is entirely different when your only making $20k.

Most of my siblings stayed in California. Initially I left in the 70s because my employer transferred me. I returned in the 80s, we had a complex [a home and some apartments]. Then my employer transferred me again, by the late 90s I sold those California apartments. I have gone back to visit California many times.

I retired in '01. On my pension, we would have a very difficult time getting by in California.

Here in Maine, we own 100+ acres of mostly forest with river frontage, and a huge new house. We are comfortable here on my pension.



By going to a region where the average household income is $20k, if you earn $30k you are head/shoulders above the locals. You are comparatively wealthy on your $30k.

One of my highschool GFs today is making around $150k, along with her DH. But they live in the DC beltway. With a combined $300k income they are struggling, their home is upside down, and they are in fear of foreclosure. They live in an obscenely high COL region. $30k a year would not get you a cardboard box in her neighborhood.

Look around, there are many areas where $20k/year can support a family. Where $30k puts you in the top 20% of the wage-earners of the town.

[camanchaca]

Originally Posted by Submariner

One of my highschool GFs today is making around $150k, along with her DH. But they live in the DC beltway. With a combined $300k income they are struggling, their home is upside down, and they are in fear of foreclosure. They live in an obscenely high COL region. $30k a year would not get you a cardboard box in her neighborhood.

I used to live in that area, and $300k / year is "bushels of cash" money.

[daxbr]

... time to get a cow.