Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

[c1ue]

http://www.thedailymail.net/articles...5066242281.txt

Thursday morning, Copake dairy farmer Dean Pierson went into his barn with a rifle and killed all 51 of his milk cows before turning the gun on himself, ending his own life.

According to the New York State Police out of Livingston, around 1 p.m. a milk man came to the barn to make his pick-up and found a note on the door that said not to come in and to call the police. “He was basically trying to save any family or friends from having to discover him,” said Capt. Scott Brown.

Brown said at that time a neighboring farmer did go in to see what had happened. He discovered Pierson and called 911.

Trooper Charles Butenhoff arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and upon entering the barn found Pierson on the ground, already deceased. Trooper Butenhoff then saw the 51 cows lying dead in their rows of milking stalls. Brown said Pierson was efficient and selective, only killing the milk cows, leaving his heifers and calves to survive.


Brown, Bureau of Criminal Investigations Investigator Kelly Taylor, Investigator Abdul Weed and Sgt. Station Commander Kimberly Adriance then responded to the scene. “The investigation did reveal he was having personal issues,” Brown said. “It was a very unusual, bizarre case. And it’s unfortunate. We handle numerous suicides a year but nothing like this. Mr. Pierson was a well-respected dairy farmer.”

On Friday morning farmers from around Copake came together and dug a large trench beside the barn to bury the carcasses of the cows. Out of respect for Pierson’s family the men said they would leave any comments on the matter to the police and Pierson’s widow.

“It’s a hard time to be a farmer these days,” one man said from inside the fence.

[Rajiv]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Farmer indebtedness has been the cause aof many farmer sucides in India as well

Farmers' suicides in India

Activist: Farmer suicides in India linked to debt, globalization

Thousands of poor farmers in India have committed suicide over the past decade as changes in India's agricultural policy set off a widening spiral of debt and despair, one environmental activist said Tuesday.

"The farmer suicides started in 1997. That's when the corporate seed control started," Vandana Shiva told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "And it's directly related to indebtedness, and indebtedness created by two factors linked to globalization."

For Shiva, who works with farming communities across India, those two factors were the ceding of control of the seed supply to the corporate chemical industry -- leading to increased production costs for already-struggling farmers -- as well as falling food prices in a global agricultural economy.

An estimated 200,000 farmers have taken their own lives in India over the past 13 years, according to Indian government statistics.

"The combination is unpayable debt, and it's the day the farmer is going to lose his land for chemicals and seeds, that is the day the farmer drinks pesticide," Shiva said. "And it's totally related to a negative economy, of an agriculture that costs more in production than the farmer can ever earn."
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[hayekvindicated]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Signs of a secular bottom in farming? My contrarian instincts tell me that it is indicative of a bottom.

[sishya]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Signs of a secular bottom in farming? My contrarian instincts tell me that it is indicative of a bottom.

100%. Farming will do good - I think a bottom in farm
produce prices

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

I can try and give some dairy farming perspective.....

Disclosure: I jointly own a dairy farm in New Zealand

New Zealand is often given credit for possessing a very efficient dairy industry.

With the elimination of subsidies to support and tarriffs to protect the NZ dairy industry went through a horrific shakeout in the 80's.

It's now much leaner and meaner.....BUT with a lot of FIRE economy-induced excessive leverage for newer industry entrants.

Globally, being a dairy farmer is a bit like having a pack of rabid grizzly bears entering a camp filled with dairy farmers. We need to outrun our less productive and more overleveraged peer group.

Even dairy farmers running on the conservative end of borrowing leverage based on very high FIRE economy induced land and plant valuations it's not easy....and that's in a globally efficient national industry.

From an outsider's perspective, I see US dairy farmers running drag race teams...the volume of production they achieve per cow is incredibly high....just like a drag motor in terms of horsepower......but the life expectancy of both is quite low.

I think this is achieved by effectively feeding US dairy cows raw energy, while their NZ peers seem to place far more emphasis on sustainable efficiency(barring the direct/indirect effects of FIRE fallout on the industry ).

I believe US dairying, both remaining mom+dad dairy farmer and industrial dairy farming, are caught in contiuous cycle of reacting to the cheap credit, inflation, disinflation cycle.....with yo-yo-ing energy prices(their biggest imput expense) and yo-yo-ing milk price taker problems.....with the milk price recieved often lagging energy price rises.

I think it's inevitable that the industry will consolidate....very much so in the US into fewer industrial sized hands....and those that survive have the potential to do quite well.

My concerns at the moment revolve around how China's economic bubbles impact on dairying when they inevitably pop.

LONG term........I think EFFICIENT dairy producers are as attractive as Coca-Cola was long-term in the 1970s-1980s......VERY heavily populated nations like China had VERY low consumption per head of capita.

If China goes from it's current consumption levels to even half that of Japan per capita, EFFICIENT dairy farming will be a bit owning an oil well........but the key is to survive from here, until we get partway there.

If big trade barriers getting thrown up every which way all bets are off....at that stage I'll probably be happy to just be alive once the dust has settled.

And I think the drag racing analogy rings true for many US dairy producers, especially small thinly capitalized oned...drag racers don't win long-distance endurance races.

I think we will see another 1-3 big volatile whipsaws in the global dairy industry over the next decade+ entirely due to volatile energy prices, volatile dairy commodity prices, inflation, disinflation, and economic chaos in the developed and developing world....we're riding a very angry rodeo bull...those that fall off get trampled....those that hold on survive and MAYBE win the silver cup.

Very long-term I see a Brazil centered South America becoming a dairying powerhouse......but massive infrastructure requirements to become a dairy exporting powerhouse is a long way down the track I think.

You couldn't pay me to take on an energy input dependant dairy farm in the US.

Just my 0.02c

[LargoWinch]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Shhhhh C1ue, TPC is still awake you know. ;)


Inside joke aside, this is quite a sad story.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Shhhhh C1ue, TPC is still awake you know. ;)

A local dairy farmer I know has told me outright, in good humor but quite serious, that if she couldn't keep her cows (we were talking foreclosure, not suicide) she'd shoot the cows herself rather than let them be hauled off to the beef market. She's seen the way they treat animals going in to be slaughtered and there's no way she'd let her "girls" go through that.

Perhaps there was something of this thinking going through Mr. Pierson's mind. I can't tell. If he only had 50 odd milkers, then he likely knew those cows by name and long association, morning and night and in the field, every day for many years.

Farmers live a little closer to the realities of life and death than many of us. Sometimes it shows. Peace be with Mr. Pierson.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

A local dairy farmer I know has told me outright, in good humor but quite serious, that if she couldn't keep her cows (we were talking foreclosure, not suicide) she'd shoot the cows herself rather than let them be hauled off to the beef market. She's seen the way they treat animals going in to be slaughtered and there's no way she'd let her "girls" go through that.

Perhaps there was something of this thinking going through Mr. Pierson's mind. I can't tell. If he only had 50 odd milkers, then he likely knew those cows by name and long association, morning and night and in the field, every day for many years.

Farmers live a little closer to the realities of life and death than many of us. Sometimes it shows. Peace be with Mr. Pierson.

I could definitely see the small farmers becoming quite attached to their animals....but even they generally flip their herds far quicker than elsewhere...with the far greater production achieved from massive energy inputs....US dairy farmers burn out their animals far faster than we do for example.

We achieve approx 350kg of milksolids per animals per annum on pasture, but their productive lives can be far longer than on some "drag race" operations in the US that get 3-4 years out of an animal being fed pure energy before it goes to the meatworks.

I think small dairy farmers are analagous to mom & pop owned dime stores.....they inevitably get creamed by Cow-Mart.

The ones that went boutique high end, value added with certified organic are amongst the worst to get hit in my opinion as folks have traded down a few rungs in line with their economic position on the ladder.

Just my 0.02c

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

I could definitely see the small farmers becoming quite attached to their animals....but even they generally flip their herds far quicker than elsewhere..

Agreed - most American dairy farmers flip cows faster than a Florida real estate investor flipped houses three years ago .

I worked as a milk tester back in the mid 1960's. Even then, successful farmers relied on that computer printout telling them which cows were contributing most to the bottom line (by milk production and butterfat content, which I measured for each cow, each month.) The marginal producers were "fired" (on some hamburger grill somewhere.)

The particular gun toting farmer I was talking to is one of those boutique farmers. A good cow can retire from milking well past the age of ten on her farm (and remain alive to enjoy her last years there, still well cared for.)

I've told this farmer more than once that if we have multiple lives and if I come back in the next life as a cow, I want to live on her farm .

[Glenn Black]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Energy prices for refrigeration & shipping of fresh milk will kill export markets. For example, Baltic dry index is now highly correlated to crude prices. When oil goes through roof again, so will shipping charges. Milk distribution cannot even be done nationally in US, let alone from Brazil to US.

Milk hormone has now been links by USDA and FDA to "concerns" for safety in children. Losing this will dramatically kill US efficiency (gallons/cow, gallons per tonne of feed, $/gallon, etc.)

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Energy prices for refrigeration & shipping of fresh milk will kill export markets.

Yup. For fresh milk, transportation is definitely a problem. I'd have thought that market was relatively more local and regional, even now. Does anyone know?

Milk products such as cheese, whey protein, ultra-pasteurized milk, and milk powder can be done across greater distances and longer times.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Yup. For fresh milk, transportation is definitely a problem. I'd have thought that market was relatively more local and regional, even now. Does anyone know?

Milk products such as cheese, whey protein, ultra-pasteurized milk, and milk powder can be done across greater distances and longer times.

Shipping fresh is mostly regional/domestic distribution in my opinion.

Shipping international is largely powder, butter, cheese, other...in that order.

The cop-op we co-own is focused on basic milk powder we are one of the lowest cost basis regions in a low cost basis country...so we can compete quite well on value/price.

We're also trying to push into the value added powders and to achieve a bigger chunk of the value in the entire food brand ownership/distribution chain.

It's my understanding that the VAST majority of global milk product production is for local/regional consumption...with several countries possessing the bulk of production in excess of local/regional consumption needs.

New Zealand for it's tiny size possesses the vast bulk of excess global production...I guess that makes us the Saudi Arabia of milk

Most of our product is exported, representing 20% of total NZ exports.

All good if commodity prices increase and NZ dairy can do so in an energy efficient manner.

Not good if we get foot/mouth or dairy prices collapse relative to all other commodity prices and inputs.

I think of investing in dairy SOMEWHAT like investing in a winery or an airline......the best way to make a small fortune....is to start with a BIG one

But if you choose your entry point strategically, and see where a carefully selected dairy investment can POSSIBLY display some of the same benefits of owning an oil well...it's possible to well or even REALLY well out of it.

A more balanced investment along the lines of DBA or an RJI might be far simpler and far cleaner(did you know cow poos DON'T come out like nice clean dry patties? ), but it's a bit like having "physical".

But it's definitely a survival of the fittest mentality both nationally and globally in the dairy sector.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Agreed - most American dairy farmers flip cows faster than a Florida real estate investor flipped houses three years ago .

I worked as a milk tester back in the mid 1960's. Even then, successful farmers relied on that computer printout telling them which cows were contributing most to the bottom line (by milk production and butterfat content, which I measured for each cow, each month.) The marginal producers were "fired" (on some hamburger grill somewhere.)

The particular gun toting farmer I was talking to is one of those boutique farmers. A good cow can retire from milking well past the age of ten on her farm (and remain alive to enjoy her last years there, still well cared for.)

I've told this farmer more than once that if we have multiple lives and if I come back in the next life as a cow, I want to live on her farm .

Interesting!

We look after our herd as best we possibly can.....our cows have a pretty good life compared to their global peers...ours stay in the herd a lot longer...but we do rotate in/out VERY often...tech in Dairying is actually moving along at a good clip.....lots of tech potential....especially since it is MORE than common to have the tiny, old cows that LOOK like they can't produce turning into stars producers.

Small farmers who do not have the capital to take automated/systematic approach to dairying will be left behind......science(and I'm NOT referring to GE) definitely trumps the small farm "art".

We're "pseudo organic" and may qualify without TOO much additional cost for the real thing in a few years if we stay on track......we don't 'roid up our animals....and are very careful with use of pasture management products.

Even though our cows have a nice life and don't get pushed hard like some of their peers, the cycle of life continues, cause old dairy cows make the best hamburger

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

Got 'Roid Juice! Drink Up.

Personally I stay away from the stuff, mass produced dairy is one of the most grotesque things you can drink.

Ever tasted raw milk or raw milk cheese in Europe, grass fed, no antibiotics...you'll never drink pasteurized, factory farm, 'roid juice again.

American Cheese = Antibiotic Slices Of Corn Fat.

You may as well inject lard straight into your arteries under the stairwell.

Although I'm biased...and it's in my best financial interest to believe so....when our family visits the US, we have no choice but to purchase organic milks for our kids to drink.....they simply refuse to drink the "factory" produced milk...too many bad experiences.

Here at home in NZ it's not a problem being pasture based dairying.....I just checked our farm stats online, we've had less than 5 days in 3 years where our milk has not tested in the highest quality category...we can drink ours straight from the vat...and is excellent for making homemade cheese...alas our place is 350km away from home.

I do believe "raw milk" is becoming more popular in the US and is a very narrow niche market so far...but has been aggressively opposed by Dept of Ag and/or FDA in the US? Including a few high profile arrests of folks trying to skirt their inability to sell raw milk by selling cow shares/co-op subscriptions to get around the barriers erected.

There are real risks(albeit low probability) to drinking raw milk on a regular basis.....I wouldn't touch it unless I visited the farm or knew the farm(er) personally as I think it's mostly animal health, quality control, and food safety protocol issues that are the real potential risks.....drinking it with regularity poses similar risks to one-off nasty 3rd world food/drink russian roulette experiences if the animal/farm/handling is less than stellar.

Just my 0.02c

[doom&gloom]

Re: Another real economy victim of FIRE? Dairy farmers shoots cows, then self

didn't some large NZ company make a big bet on doing dairy in Uruguay? I think that did not work out so well for them.