Dairy farming in South Dakota?

[Tom Reaney]

This week begining 18/8/03 there is a delegation in Ireland trying to persuade farmers to relocate to South Dakota, USA to take up dairy farming. The investment is USD dollar $2,000,000 - I didn't catch exactly what you got for that - but assume a farm of land and buildings. The "incentive" is that a new cheese processing plant is being built providing a ready market for the milk.

I assume that the delegation will visit other European countries too.

A couple of questions:
1. What happened to the local South Dakota diary farmers?
2. What are the market dynamics that create this situation?

[glow=green,3]Tom in Ireland[/]

 

[thecrow]

I have also looked at this in a local news paper but It looked a little uncertain. Unless you know it is a respectable buisseness with a sturdy futer then keep away they are always in paper "British Dairy Farmers wanted to take up farming in usa no quotas" it sounds so easy in short but it cant be that easy. You still need to familurise yourself with surroundings local dealers you need to know the right people when it all goes rong. I think there are many people doing these projects i personaly would stay away agriculture in the usa is not as perfect as it looks.

 

[Tom in Ireland]

To The Crow,

Well I guess I'll have to spend that $2.0M some other way!!!

[glow=green,3]Tom in Ireland[/]

 

[thecrow]

hey you want to tranfer it to my acount ide be more than greatfull, and how is farming there good well if you got all tht money must be!!!


[glow=green,3] !!!Tom in cheshire!!![/]

 

[jayhawkerroy]

Here is a South Dakota Dept of Agriculture website that provides info on South Dakota dairy farms:
http://www.sd-exports.org/dairy2002

Apparently studies show they need about 65,000 more dairy cattle to meet current demand. Land 'o Lakes (a large dairy cooperative) is opening a new processing plant in Lake Norden (couldn't find it on my map, so don't know exactly where it is), driving the need for more dairy cattle. No mention of incentives, like the 2000 Euros, so can't provide explanation of what that provides. All I know is a good dairy operation requires a bunch of money up front. Don't know how someone would do this without going into debt in a major way.

 

[jayhawkerroy]

Oops, missed the extra zeros. USD 2,000,000 investment is still a bunch of money. Not sure if it sets you up for a Grade A milk operation.

 

[treaney]

Hi Jayhawkerroy,

I haven't heard anything further about this in Ireland.

Do you know what the new processing plant in Lake Norden will produce? In Ireland, processing plants have flourished when they migrate from bulk milk processing to producing milk derived products e.g. caesin, whey, pizza toppings, chocolate crumb etc.

[glow=green,3]Tom in Ireland[/]

 

[jayhawkerroy]

Supposed to be a world class cheese plant, which is not surprising for Land o' Lakes. They are more in to cheese and butter than other bulk milk products.

 

[oregonpharmer]

Dairy establishment in the States is risky unless you have a significant capital backing. Land is very inexpensive in remote areas that are not that desireable. Pollution regulations and screaming city type neighbors that move to the country but do not like animals and their smells are forcing dairies into these remote areas where the climate requires a great deal of expensive housing to manage the cattle.

The Capital Press, a US weekly agricultural newspaper, generally has some pretty revealing articles about dairy farming in the US. What you will find is that $2,000,000 US will get you the land and buildings in some location like South Dakota that has months of 20-40 below zero F winter weather, then you have to fund cattle, the waste processing plant, find labor in the middle of nowhere, and buy farm equipment on top of that.

Here is the Capital Press website: http://www.capitalpress.info/

 

[treaney]

I'm curious to know what you mean by..."waste processing plant".

[glow=green,3]TomZ[/]

 

[IN A MILLION YEARS]

ALL SEAMS A BIT DODGY TO ME, CLEAN CONCRETE, CLEAN COWS,, CLEAN FEEDING BARRIERS CLEAN SHED, NO BIRD CAC ON THE WOOD, AND WORST OF ALL NO ZETORS! HOW CAN YOU FARM WITHOUT A ZETOR ? ITS A BIT TO PERFECT TO BE REAL! ONCE YOUV'E SOLD YOUR FARM MACHINERY , .... WIFE! ECT. YOU PAY MILLOINS TO GET A PLANE TICKET AND GET A BED IN THE HOTEL AND GO TO THE PEOPLE WHO PAY YOU 2 MILLION DOLLARS? YEAH, RIGHT AS IF! ONLY TO FIND THERE GONE? AND YOUV,E GOT NOTHING.

 

[gburnett]

Here on the east coast of the US dairy farmers are going out of busines
at a steady pace. High labor costs,high land prices,gov't regulation coupled with low milk prices are driving folks out of the business. Land is very cheap in South Dakota campared to much of the US.

 

[treaney]

On Irish TV at the moment there is a TV series about Irish farmers who have relocated to South Dakota to do this:

Milking the USA
Milking The USA is the story of two men and their families' quest to make it in America; it echoes the Land Rushes of the past but this time our families aren't searching for gold, they are coming to milk it - literally.

Two Irish men and their families have answered the South Dakota Dept of Agriculture's plea for dairy farmers; Michael Crinnion, a chicken farmer from Mullingar and Edward Kavanagh, an agri-business man, feel it's a golden opportunity and decide to move their families across the globe. A three-part series filmed over three years, Milking The USA follows the twists and turns of South Dakota life; slurry lakes, minus 30-degree winters and many more surprises, as the families try to adjust to a very different life.

Produced by GMTV for RT Television

 

[gburnett]

Check out farm and acerage prices throughout the US at
www.unitedcountry.com

 

[treaney]

Having seen a couple of episodes of "Milking the USA", I can now answer a few of my own questions that I posed back in 03:

1. What happened to the local South Dakota diary farmers?
> They are still there but they are not willing to work 7 days a week. There are service job altenatives which permit them to have a more family friendly lifestyle.

2. What are the market dynamics that create this situation?
> Dairying in America is a business. It is treated and operated as such. The cows are housed 365 days a year! (I bet the cows dont even have names!). Margins are slim and there is no room for error or experimentation. You have to follow the formula.

 

[gburnett]

Tom you have a lot of insight to the situation. Dairies of 500 to
1000 cows are becoming the trend for the 'commercial' side of things. On the 'regular farming' side there are still some small dairies a lot run by the Amish and Mennoites like around Lancaster PA. Also organic/grass/seasonal dairying is a growing
enterprise here as people have become aware and concerned about chemicals and conditions in the large dairies. I raise French
Canadienne dairy cattle and sell hefiers to small seasonal dairies
as they will produce milk without much grain on good forage.
Also South Dakota is pretty isolated several hundred miles from major markets so as energy costs (trucking) goes up those daires have had to absorb those costs while milk prices are in decline.

 

[treaney]

Yes I first saw mention of this 3 years ago and was curious to know what was driving it. The TV program revealed a lot of the realities.

The climate is South Dakota seems pretty severe to what I'm used in Ireland.

Sound like what you are doing is "real" farming.

 

[Frank]

It seems that all are in disarray about dary farming in South Dakota. I have only my opinion in northern Michigan (North of the 45th parrellel) My good friend and neighbor is a small herd dairy farmer and struggles to make a living. There are only two dairy farmers left in this county, the rest have given it up! if you don't have land that your father or grandfather had you will have a difficult time. For example, my cousin graduated from Ohio Sate Uninversity with a degree in dairy science and a minor in animal nutrition, or something similar, and had a great job as a herdsman at a medium sized farm near Columbus, OH USA. The city was closing in around the farm and the owner couldn't refuse the offer to sell the land. The land sold and my cousin was out of work. (he had improved the milk production significantly). So he and a fellow graduate decided to try it on their own. They leased machinery, cows and land from a retired farmer and worked endless days. They couldn't make it! Too much money going out and and not enough comming in. Sometimes hard work is just not enough. It seems that only "BIG" farms can make it now-a-days in the U.S.


If my cousin reads this, I hope he will find this in good health and Gods speed in farming again!!!!

 

[treaney]

Looking back, it is now 3 years since I originally posted the "South Dakota dairy farming". Time flies.

Re farming in Northern Michigan and here in Ireland (and I suspect most aother places too), the situation is not too different. Where I live in Mayo, farms would typically be 50 acres (20 hectacres). Anyone with substaintially more than this made their money in other businesses, purchased more acreage and now use their farms as a retirement activity. All farmers today - with the exception of those in the 70+ age group - now work off farm as do their partners. IMHO the farms are now just a hobby - in fact I would hazard a guess that in reality most farmers are subsidizing the cost of running their farms from their off farm income! Time to rewrite the economic text books.

Personally I firmly believe that the future lies in BioEnergy e.g. oil seed rape or elephant grass. However, until the infrastucture exists to support this, it is simply not ecconomic for the small farmer to do this on his own.

 

[internash]

They dont want bio fuels Tomz The governments own 99% of oil company shares! And thats the problem. And even if they allow bio energy, I think the big arable boys will get the contracts, not us small farms and thats a shame Take the Iraq War for example= The only *TRUE* reason britain and america went there was to destroy the oil fields, And in the process rise the oil prices, so the governments could "cash-in" Thats what I have always belived and i think its the truth:-x