Dairies Serve Up Healthy Scoop Of Jobs, Study FindsThe dairy industry outshines Hollywood and the wine business when it comes to creating jobs in California.Dairy-related spending generated an estimated 443,574 jobs in 2008, according to a new study funded by the California Milk Advisory Board.
It's not just the people who milk the cows or make the cheese. The job total includes suppliers of feed and other dairy farm needs, truckers who haul dairy products, grocers who sell the goods and many other workers. These people in turn spend their paychecks on housing, clothing and other goods and services, employing yet more Californians. "It's really important, especially now with so many people unemployed out there," said Johan Bartelink, an Escalon-area dairy farmer and member of the milk board. The study has one big caveat: The dairy business was especially strong in 2008, with farmers getting high prices for their milk and consumer demand not yet shrinking with the recession. Read more... |
A Thirst for Milk Bred by New Wealth Sends Prices SoaringAfter years of saving, Geoff Irwin finally scraped up enough money to buy his parents’ dairy farm near here in 2003. Now his parents have retired to a house nearby and Mr. Irwin runs the farm with its 300 cows.
It is hard work, 12 hours a day, but already it looks as though it has paid off: just four years later, the farm is worth more than twice what Mr. Irwin paid for it. Prices for dairy farms in New Zealand are soaring along with dairy incomes, thanks to a global milk boom. “It feels really good,” said Mr. Irwin, 45. “It feels like we’re going to be earning and be rewarded the way we should.” Driven by a combination of climate change, trade policies and competition for cattle feed from biofuel producers, global milk prices have doubled over the last two years. In parts of the United States, milk is more expensive than gasoline. There are reports of cows being stolen from Wisconsin dairy farms. Read More... |
Quality milk’s making a splashTHOSE who want to drink milk that tastes like real milk should get themselves along to the Johnson’s Farmgate stall at the Newcastle City Farmers Market.Glen William’s Karl and Cathie Johnson sell an award-winning pure jersey milk line called Over The Moon.
The cows are milked one day and the milk is bottled and sold the next. ‘‘It’s real milk,’’ Karl Johnson told GT. ‘‘It’s all from one farm and it’s gently pasteurised, not nuked like the big guys do. ‘‘We just pasteurise it and put it straight into the bottle.’’ Over The Moon’s milk recently won seven silver medals at the Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show. ‘‘Jersey milk is richer because it’s higher in butter fat,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘They’re a smaller cow, so they’re better for the environment. ‘‘And they might produce less milk but it’s far better quality, it’s excellent. ‘‘It’s pure, fresh, natural milk. ‘‘It’s all back to basics for us.’’ Johnson, who also sells farm-fresh vegetables including heirloom varieties at the Newcastle markets, decided to sell milk through his business after watching some of his dairy-farming neighbours struggle to make a living. Read More... |