Thread: VDARE: Family Dairy Farms: Killed by illegal immigration

http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2009/08/ ... migration/


Family Dairy Farms: Killed by Illegal Immigration
[Patrick Cleburne] @ 12:30 pm [Email author] [Email this article] [Print this article]


On Saturday I published Does Treason Have to Be A Dairy Product? which discussed another piece of pro-immigration propaganda by The Wall Street Journal’s cheerleader on the subject, Miriam Jordan.

Digging deeper, the current state of the U.S. Dairy Industry is a classic case study of huge damage being done to American family businesses by illegal immigration; and of the damage being quietly facilitated because of ideological perversion by the very political representatives who should be first to protect the victims.

As Reuters explains, dairy prices have collapsed. [FACTBOX: U.S. dairy farms in crisis as milk prices dive July 31, 2009] This is pushing many farmers to towards bankruptcy. A typical account is Wisconsin farmers in crisis as prices, exports crash By Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 2, 2009

The average dairy farm in the state is losing about $100 per cow each month, according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation

Another is My Turn: Crisis grips Vermont farms By Rep. Peter Welch, Burlington Free Press July 15, 2009

today we face a crisis like we’ve never seen before. Prices have fallen to record lows even as the cost of production continues to rise — pushing scores of farms out of business. In the past five years alone, Vermont has lost over 250 dairy farms, leaving us with only 1,046 today. Thirty-two of those farms have been shuttered since the start of this year alone.

Milk prices have always been cyclical, but the fundamental problem here is that production has been expanding too much, as the Reuters report says. More particularly it has been expanding very rapidly in non-traditional states in the West like California, Idaho and New Mexico–as documented in this report (PDF).

In the West, the new operations are huge, with great efficiencies of scale. Mid Western and Eastern operators are rightfully intimidated

Minnesota dairy farms, just like the state’s plants, face heavy competition from other states, particularly in the West, where both plants and farms are newer and larger. These facilities have been able to incorporate up-to-date technology that results in lower operating costs and larger herds, which in turn allows for better economies of scale.
The average size of a dairy herd in California is 750 cows. In Minnesota, the average herd size is 77. California has 1,100 herds with 500 or more cows, compared to Minnesota’s 60. And 5,000-cow farms are common in California; Minnesota has two. “California producers can spread their fixed costs over more units,â€

The author is also ignoring the factor of California's federally subsidized irrigation.

Organic produce, from what I have heard, is another major factor contributing to the dependence upon immigrant labor. Again, liberal culture goes to the rescue of their beloved illegal aliens. A recent study found no nutritional advantage in organic produce, but its popularity and price sure have increased over the last few decades.

So California dairy farms have as many as 5000 cows---and enough illegal aliens, too--- to go around. It sounds like some people spotted a golden financial opportunity.

Large Agri-business will buy up the family farms and eventually control the entire food availability of the world.

In the near future, I guess if we want American made, affordable milk - we'll have to buy a goat!