The End Of The Small Dairy Farm After Over 60 Years!

[@petersensheepranch7344]

About 20 dairy farms left here in North Dakota. Riverview is going to build a 25,000 cow dairy and that will push everybody out. 40 years ago dairy farming was the most common way to make a living in the midwestern states. Corporate greed and the government has pushed out the small dairy farmer.

[@Greg-k4j]

Industrial scale farming sucks but gradually taking over across the globe....

[@randyyoder4898]

Those dumb huge dairy farms should be highly illegal. The selfishness and overindulgence of one persons share of the farm market stinks. Hopefully that 25000 cow dairy farm will go broke after 2 years.

[@charleswalters5284]

Corporate greed, bribery, government interference, and the deeeeep staaaaate are all the same thing

[@KristiWallace-tp2oo]

Yeah lived in north dakota all my life what a change I have seen and not for the better every time a small farm got swallowed upmnot only the farmstead got dozed down but a family's dream and that family's story was gone we lost so much more than just that. The small towns are now getting to be just bedroom communities kids have no purpose no chores no work ethics or sense of purpose we wonder why the young turn to drugs and bad influences 😢 sad very sad thevsong by the Beatles yesterday rings true

[@johnweatherford5760]

Government ruins everything when it’s involved.

[@ewardmello4255]

My family milked cows 90+ years And my grandmother milked cows 40+ years . And she cried like a baby when they left. We all had chores to do . Everything falls apart when the cows leave. Cows are just like family. We all know what it's like ,it's a very very sad day .

[@Oldschoolrules123]

Lived on a dairy farm in Richfield Springs NY in the 70s . Joined the military and went back 5 years later only to leave again and not return for over 20 years. I was shocked to see almost all of the dairy farms shut down. As a grown man,I almost could have cried.

[@fudgelfarmandacres]

@@Oldschoolrules123 From Sharon Springs. Our entire farm is now high priced homes for those who don't need them. My wife and I moved to NW Arkansas 20 years ago and I had left NY for the last time in '95.

[@Oldschoolrules123]

@@fudgelfarmandacres Yep, I moved to Florida in 88 and went back north to run heavy equipment in 2010 in Massachusetts and got tired of it and moved back to Florida in 2016. Being 64 I'll never go back now unless their politics change. It's a shame because it's so beautiful up there. But I'm thinking about moving to North Alabama right by Tennessee. That's more like up north. And Florida is actually pretty ugly, but I like the warmer weather.

[@Vermontfarmboy11]

So true

[@hddoug72]

I was fortunate to grow up next to a hard working husband/wife ran small dairy farm. They started it all in the forties and made it work...i picked up an moved hay for them and as a kid it was hard work. I had no idea what they had to go through on a daily basis. There is no rest on a dairy farm. God bless their hard working souls

[@kittyrichards9915]

This makes me sad. I come from many generations of small farmers. My grandpa born in like 1906 had a small dairy operation until he was too old to run it. Dairy farming is a labor or love. Thank you for 60 years.

[@deerhunter7482]

Anyone who can work a dairy can make a good living doing anything because of their work ethic,God bless the farmer in all of us !

[@benjaminsmith5811]

Very sad moment. I remember when this happened to our family farm in 1995. God bless

[@jimhrstka5616]

Nothing more sad than a empty dairy barn. Life will go on. Been there.

[@farmideas]

And me. Not easy way of life but one which was difficult to give up.

[@Ron-rs2zl]

I sold my cows the following week. I'm 60 now, and can't believe how much work I was doing. I raise a few steers now and sell my crops.

[@mikedaugharty5544]

So sad to see a real milk producer shut down

[@TomNorton-wz1rx]

I hate to see farms go out, once there gone there probably won’t ever be a farm there again

[@Oliver66FarmBoy]

We were just talking about dairy farms Saturday. One of the 2 dairy farmers left came and got a hose from dad. 30 years ago 80% of the farms around here had a least a small dairy heard. Some had 150+. And the other 20% usually had at least some beef cattle running around. Hogs were also a huge deal up until the market crash in the early 2000’s. Now there’s only 2 dairy farms left and 2 hog confinement operations. Still a decent amount of beef but still nothing like it was. As the small farms go the rural economy will continue to crash. Not just from the farms themselves going away but nobody talks about how many non farm jobs small family farms used to support as well. Sad.

[@BenLiddle-s8t]

When we sold, it was the worst day of my life in 2021

[@matts3227]

I worked on a 50 cow dairy in high school and college. Some of the best times!!

[@JulianKeller-om6wz]

Man, this had to be a hard day for these folks, and many others like them. The end of an era. And it sucks. I too am from North Dakota and there used to be small dairy farmers all over. Especially in the New Salem area. That was like the dairy center of ND. Now, not a one around there anymore. I grew up a little northwest of there. We didn't milk, but 90% of our neighbor's did. Anywhere from 30 to 100 cows. Most were in that 50 to 60 range. And they slowly dwindled away. What the hell happened that honest, hard-working people can't make a living on an average sized family farm anymore? My dad had four sections of land and had small grains and ran 100 head of beef cows. That was a pretty fair sized operation and made our family a good living. We worked hard, had fun, lived good, and never ran short of anything. He retired in 2000, and he said he would have liked to farm a few more years, but things changed so much, and it just wasn't fun anymore. Now that sized farm is barely a hobby farm anymore. Along with the family farms going away, all the small towns in our area have dried up too. They all used to have a grocery store or two, a hardware store and lumber yard, two grain elevators,a bank or two, several full service gas stations, a school, a few bars, a barber shop and beauty shop, three or four churches, or more. Some had a car dealership or two and two or three implement dealers. It all slowly went away as the small farms went away. Less small farms meant fewer kids. When those small towns lose their schools that's pretty much the end. People start moving away. Most of them are lucky to have a bar and church anymore. Pretty damn sad. I'm so glad I got to grow up in those times and experience that life, cuz it's gone, and no kids will ever get to live and experience that good life again.

[@don66hotrod94]

The last dairy farm in our neighborhood sold their cows October 30th. In my childhood there were 11 small family dairy farms here, now there are none. I feel bad for the community, but not for the dairy farmers, who work so hard, but get paid very little. Hopefully, there lives will be easier and more independent than having to be there 24/7 /365 twice a day. It's too bad the direction our food system is going, but giant operations are taking over.

[@Financialwiz4567]

You live in my neighborhood apparently. We have lost all but one dairy who sells cow shares so people can have raw milk for their "cats". All milk is private marketed, no milk truck involved.

[@joedoak3478]

I can relate 10 yrs ago my cows left after 30 yrs I felt I failed but realized there is life after cows and realized I wasn't in a routine but actually in a rut good luck enjoy the rest of your life

[@joegotz1971]

My grandfathers brother had around 150 cows and his son continued until 15 years ago. he couldn’t find help anymore. My friend had 600 cows up until 10 years ago. They sold the cows because they couldn’t make any money. Walker-Gordon farms in Plainsboro were a big deal in the 60’s. They had one of the rotating milking ❤. Now gone. North Jersey had dairy farms all over the place, now there are just barns. It’s amazing how farmers made a living with a small dairy farm, now you need 20,000 cows to make a go of it. All of farming is big, no more small farms. Cows, chickens, pigs, grain farming. BIG! When i was growing up my grandfather farmed 150 acres, now that is a garden. The last few farmers in my area will be retiring within the next few years. I don’t see many around to farm the ground. Here in NJ we will build on it just like every other available piece of ground. Shopping malls, strip malls, office buildings and warehouses. sucks!

[@bruceprentice6441]

I quit shipping milk September/2022 after 42 years. I didn’t really want to quit, but age will catch up to everyone

[@Oldschoolrules123]

I'm retired from construction. Many hours a week and 6 day weeks, but it doesn't compare to growing up and working 7 days a week with no pay and working every holiday on a dairy farm.

[@rbb1949]

As a 40 year old man watching this video made me cry because in high school i worked at a dairy farm after school and on weekends for two years and i absolutely loved the work and it's very hard work but it taught me the values of a hard days work that your average person can't appreciate! Anyway they too had to shut down the dairy part of the farm and i remember i graduated highschool shortly after that and moving on with life but the farm itself is still there but just empty without the cows. God bless all our small farms and farmers!

[@premfarm]

this brought back some sadness we sold out in 2010 it was hard for awhile but life goes on

[@kevinanderson89]

Here in Nebraska we are under 90 dairies left. When I start in 1984 there was 3800 dairies in Nebraska. I stopped selling milk in 2009 and just milk a few to feed bottle calves, but is hard to find bottle calves with no dairies around. Best to you in the future.

[@kenhill7105]

All the small farms around here have been bought up by the guys getting bigger. They take out any fence lines, clear all the trees and tile it. Make the whole farm one or 2 fields. Several big places around here milking 1000-3000 cows. I'm in northern NY.

[@paulkaufmann8130]

I used to live in Northern NY....that was the trend 25 years ago...a few massive dairies left and only a few smaller players.

[@MorganOtt-ne1qj]

I quit the business almost 20 years ago. Wasn't making sense for me to work 90 hours a week and not have any $ at the end of the month. Ulcer was a clue that I was stressed, and I was missing a lot of my kids growing up. It's hard to say goodbye, and I will tell people that I am a dairy farmer "in recovery". No 12 step program. But we move on in life, and we find other paths.

[@soniconbed]

The same here in italy...20 years ago,where i live,there was 1500 dairys in 20..25 farms....now only 200 in 1...very sad...good luck at everyone

[@fokkerd3red618]

I grew up on a farm in Michigan, back in the 60's and 70's. We had cattle & hogs, which is all my Dad wanted. He grew up Milking cows and didn't want anything to do with Milking cows. The community i grew up in had dairy farms everywhere, but today in 2024, they been replaced with huge dairy operations that require thousands of acres of land. Don't get me wrong, it's work all the time on any farm, but dairy farming is on another level.

[@andrewmellon5072]

Children who grow up doing chores on a farm make great citizens.

[@greghamann2099]

Our Wisconsin dairy barn has been empty for over 25 years now and it still hurts and makes me sad. Our expansion and modernisation was too little and too late.

[@don66hotrod94]

Look on the bright side....the big guys seem to never be able to stop expanding and borrowing more money.

[@paultheisen5290]

America needs more Dairies to sell Raw Milk. That's a Win, Win for both the Farmers and Consumers

[@markenge9348]

We loved raw milk growing up. In fact one time me and my three brothers (there were four of us) actually got INJURED drinking raw milk. -‐----- The cow laid down.

[@trevorz1299]

@@markenge9348 lovely warm milk, even on a hot summerday .

[@Timkrenz-gr6ol]

❤😮VERY SAD ❤😢

[@hartungdairyfarm0713]

Hopefully, that place can be milked in again. It looks too nice to be a beef grain setup

[@bigfoot-bf5wp]

Sad😢

[@philipmiles3410]

I am nothing short of pist off seeing the landscape change towards big box barns , empty barns makes me just sick we have the man power to turn our dairy industry around it takes perseverance , Wisconsin has went to total shit with government control and giving big dairy's freebies and huge grants .

[@scottschaeffer8920]

I feel, part of America is dying when this happens. A family run dairy is the toughest job I know. Agreed, this is very sad.

[@DaleWheeler-cw3wy]

It's very sad too see this my Grandparents milked cow's all there life grandma was still milking cow's at 82 years old she only milked 14 cow's but she loved every minute of it, she never went on vacation or away from home she loved her small dairy herd, it's to bad the men in suits f---ked this country up what the men in overalls made, tell your Grandma thank you for her dedication to the American dairy cows we all love you

[@guernseygoodness]

I know raw milk isn’t legal in a lot of states but hear me out. My dad started his dairy in 1963 and rented until 1977. He bought a farm in 1977 and at the end in 1998 we were milking around 300 cows and partly due to stray voltage went broke. 13 years later, with just a small fraction of our original land my wife and I along with our kids started a raw milk dairy with just 6 cows, I now milk around 60 cows and have a lot more money left over at the end of the month than when we milked 300 and I don’t work nearly as hard . At the beginning, I dumped milk in the field rather than selling it for less than I wanted to, I offered no volume discounts. Wholesale only to stores that were to sell it for a profit. We sell at the farm above wholesale but just a bit less than our wholesale accounts/retail stores sell it for. To make this work, you have to farm near or in a larger population center that has a decent average income.

[@8tomtoms8]

Good for you!! I grew up milking cows and we always had raw milk on our farm. Now, many years later, I buy raw milk from a local farmer. It is FAR superior to Pasteurized milk in food value and taste, which you already know. Please keep doing what you're doing!!!

[@ArmpitStudios]

Raw milk is dangerous. Period.

[@Derek-jh4ik]

Can you please explain the stray voltage? I hope i don’t sound rude I genuinely am curious about it.

[@guernseygoodness]

@@Derek-jh4ik The power company had a transformer that wasn’t grounded properly and stray voltage was going in the ground from the pole to the barn where we met the cows and shocking the cows which stressed them and caused them to get a form of mastitis known as Staph Aureus is impossible to cure. We ended up having to sell over half of our herd for slaughter.

[@justinhargett7222]

Looking through the comments for this video, it struck me that we need to do something about this. Personally, i work part time for a local dairy farmer and plan to start a small dairy when i retire from my day job. Maybe i am not the norm but i cant sit by and watch things go the wrong way. I challenge all of you to do something to help save these small fairy farmers. Maybe buy milk directly, or lend a helping hand for free or very little pay, vote for representatives that support small local agriculture. We can stop reminiscing and complaining and do something to save these small dairies.

[@randyrobinson8751]

My cattle herd is gone too. Almost 100 years of Angus cattle in two countries

[@Onealfarm9967]

Dairy farming is tuff I almost became one in my 20s worked a few weeks helping a farmer that got down in his back he was 60 he milked all his life I was running circles around him and was enjoying every minute until a big light went off in my head he was supposed to be in bed but chose to work with me I thought what if I invest in all this equipment and I get sick and have to find help I’d be just like him I couldn’t stop because I was sick or want to go out of town for anything at certain times I mean I was set the rest of my life 7 days a week twice a day to milking cows I changed my mind quick yelp I’m a wuss but you have to be tuff to be a dairyman my hats are of to you boys and gals

[@barryfunke8165]

Sad

[@eddiebaughman2809]

Very sad

[@davidkimmel5153]

Sad day. I remember our last day 😢

[@douglassalter6352]

I'll never forget the next morning after the sale.

[@farmerbill6855]

A sad day indeed.

[@corrinemurphy9148]

Sad to see you go 😢

[@spreader4]

Breaks your heart .

[@michaelmonthey5974]

I wish it didn’t come to this.

[@oldtimeway1]

How sad. I hate to say, but I can feel your pain. Been there and done that. Factory farms are running the little guys out and the government and their stupid rules are on their side.

[@mariusvandam8291]

I have seen this to . In Belgium ,small farmers made a Coop to milk . They Sell all the butter, milk, yoghurt iscreme on their name to Big grocery companies in Belgium. Also a possibility to Stay in Business on the Dairy Farm 👍🤠

[@hobertlee7598]

IT IS A BAD FEELING HAVING TO SELL,,,, I HAVE BEEN THERE

[@karlfischer1011]

I can't watch this. Too close to my heart. Valentine's 1996 was our last milking.

[@oliver69cork46]

Very sad to see. Used to be a 35 cow herd in Ireland, too small to stay economic. Loved my cows. Hate modern dairy farming and the way its done. No welfare,care or attachment just greed.

[@randyrobinson8751]

Grandpa started farming with a new 1947 case vac. I quit with a 1966 case 730

[@johnnycampbell2719]

To me, this is the biggest crisis in America right now, and your average citizen couldnt care less. The 100-150 year old family farms are going under at an anstonishing pace and no one seems to care. People are very disconnected with where their food comes from. These were livelyhoods. It wasnt just a job, it was life for these families. Hurts to see this. This is our reality now. God bless the American farmer.

[@jimmason1072]

I helped out at an uncles diary farm over 50 years ago....still remember some of the girls names...Linda, Lucy, Lois ...😅 happy times as a kid....they are all gone now...uncle, barn, house....and of course animals

[@sondrabowers4837]

God Bless to the small dairy farmer 🙏

[@cathyakers2164]

This is very sad… but since it happened over two years ago, why is it showing up in my news feed now?

[@TreyHuffard-hs4tk]

Where can I buy those see-through shells? That is so smart being able to see the inflation.

[@TreyHuffard-hs4tk]

??

[@zzzzzz1220]

Ja ist wie überall auch bei uns in Deutschland hören viele auf . Als mein vater vor 30 Jahren unseren hof gekauft hat gab es bei uns im Dorf noch 5 Landwirte und heute bin nur noch ich da

[@johnzhytamyr8840]

I grew up on a dairy farm, heck everyone I knew growing up did too in NE IND. When I went to see the old man's farm 10 years ago, the new owners had drug the roof off of the huge beautiful gambrel hand hewn white oak timber barns. The rain made them rot and fall in on themselves. They didn't want to pay the property taxes on the structures. When those barns were built they were such an investment that the land had to produce for 7 years before the farmer would build them. Our society is becoming deathly ill, our politicians take our tax dollars to pay a corporate entity to hollow out cities and regions. Growing up every tiny town everywhere had a tiny supermarket, a little cafe, a hardware store, a few businesses, a TV/radio shop and just about everything you needed. Now none of those towns have anything but a Walmart 14 miles away and boarded up shops. Our politicians hollowed out every small town in the midwest with tax abatements, grants, & gimme's to soulless big businesses that exported the profits and they made us pay to do it.

[@LarryBeitz]

I feel your pain no more milking ourselves 😢 sorry

[@williamferguson395]

It is one of the saddest things to see an empty farm! My grandparents dairy farmed after ww2 in Northern Michigan until their health required them to quit. When I visit, the farm is vacant, as they passed away a few years back! It is so sad! A once thriving and busy place is now a ghost farm! The parlor looks almost exactly like the one in the video!

[@Financialwiz4567]

I dont think it is greed. It is technology. As someone else mentioned they waited too long to begin to grow annd lost out. I did the same. I thought farming the way i grew up was good enough, it wasn't. After 31 years i threw in the towel last year, buf kept all of my way too small but paid for equipment just in case.....small farming returns. The hardest thing is looking at barns dad built and maintained, but i failed to generate enough cash flow to keep up, and they need to come down. We bought another home 10 miles away, it has given me time to remove my emotions a bit and prepare for the inevitable sale. I could not stand the thought of retiring on the property i failed to maintain. New job as been good, as has life in general. We are a blessed people in America.

[@ikonseesmrno7300]

Wow, that sucks! Difficult market to stay ahead in these days. Are they switching over to beef?

[@JandLVideos]

Yep still doing beef, still gonna farm

[@ikonseesmrno7300]

@JandLVideos Woo Hoo! Glad to hear it!!

[@Livestockfarmingg]

It was great😊

[@katinahebert1270]

This should never happen I believe that this will come back to bite us in the back side. The little man built this great for this to happen to them DOWN RIGHT SHAMEFUL

[@Leslie-es5ij]

The government buy out ending grade B milk ended the small dairy farm. You had to upgrade or get out !

[@angelogennari8863]

Very sad.....where ? Wisconsin ?

[@JandLVideos]

@@angelogennari8863 hutchinson minnesota

[@ottoneidlinger4938]

Man Jim you really know how to tug at the ol’ heart strings. Ron walks just like a man that’s done many years on the farm. I’m sure all of them had a struggle with this decision. I feel sorry for all the animals. Their lives forever changed. On a brighter note, they probably won’t need that 185 anymore. Probably should find a way to get it to NY. 😉

[@JandLVideos]

Luckily, you were able to see it all in operation when you visited!

[@ottoneidlinger4938]

Yessir

[@kahlerfamilyfarms]

That’s too bad! How many did you guys milk! Looks like you had a pretty nice set up! My dream was always to milk a small herd with all allis equipment. Always fancied their hay and forage equipment. Probably because it wasn’t very common to see around here in the early 2000s to current!

[@JandLVideos]

About 60 at the end

[@jeremygould492]

Sad day so sorry 😢

[@jeremygould492]

A empty barn is a sad sight

[@jouster100]

That's a shame, really well looked after cattle as well. Did they sell up completely or go into beef?

[@JandLVideos]

Still doing beef

[@MarvinWigfield]

Greed is takeing over😢

[@EasyE-s5j]

This is the last generation of small dairy’s. Kids not interested in this lifestyle

[@strong40]

For good reason. It's a hard life and it was only tolerable when all your neighbors were small dairy farmers as well. Misery loves company

[@robertmccardle5113]

Work is hard, Cost is horrendous , Corprate farms shoving family farms out of existance😢

[@randykroells8049]

A local farmer said to me the day the cow's left was the day he got out of jail.

[@jaredsedoris6736]

How does this keep happening?

[@stoptheviolence777]

What's going to happen with these poor cows, what happened to the male calves? I'm sure the calves were slaughtered. The same with cows that gave you their lives so you could make a profit? Will they be able to live out their lives free?

[@SamhainBe]

So sad to see another small farm go....

[@gasdieselgrease5746]

Wh did you stop Milking?

[@JandLVideos]

There's no money left in it for the little dairy's and with nobody wanting to work every day it was hard to get help and hard to make it make sense to keep milking for hardly any money

[@alanpranke3299]

Wow, Imoressive looking cows in this herd. As much as I love the stanchion barn, I know that everytime you pick up a shovel, fork or grain scoop - you're losing money.

[@fdevries3647]

And our children will be serfs to the corporations one day 😢

[@oussamabuochama]

Hello, I like to work in the cow stable. Can I find a work contract with you?

[@محمدعبدالشافيعبدالشافي-س4و]

Hello, I am an Arab looking for a job as a shepherd on a cattle farm. I have extensive previous experience. Is there a job opportunity?

[@Dennismelnychuk]

Sad, very sad to see how society has killed the family farms and a clean way if life.

[@Jman771]

I’m sorry for your loss. It makes it hard to be proud to be an American when everywhere you turn the American way of life is disappearing

[@Eric-o3m7e]

Thank you for feeding me Sir

[@marudaevans1383]

How are you out there dear friends? I'm in Uganda but I have become so much interested in your daily farming project, but my question is how can someone join you when he is far away from you like me dear friend? Because I would like to learn about such a moderate grazing, can you allow me to come and visit you dear so that I can learn more about a good farming?

[@stevenhancock7462]

Why

[@randyrobinson8751]

The end comes & it's like the devastation of an F5 tornado. But there's life after farming

[@thomasforst7327]

Hard saying good bye to your cows

[@andrewsmart2949]

well that sux

[@piggyman1585]

♥️🇬🇧

[@tiffanypheasant3085]

why

[@iamburl2667]

I grew up dairy, this can not be a grade a dairy, prarie farms and inspection would shut us down till we cleaned it up, and t post laying in holding lot? Come on now

[@JandLVideos]

It was the same as any other old fashion barn in the area and even cleaner they had to go through multiple inspections a year and every time they passed. There was one time that they had to put a metal kicker plate in the milk house door. There were many in the area who were much worse than this. They had Grade A and if they weren't clean, they would've been shut down.

[@mrbill4187]

Looks good to me, a t post laying on the ground! HOLY SCHNEIKEES CALL THE FBI!🤣

[@Oldschoolrules123]

It's so easy on KZbin to lie about yourself. I read your past comments but couldn't find any videos of yours to back up your claims. You owned a Panther? Let's see some videos. And it's funny when someone doesn't use a capital letter when describing something specific.... Like a Caterpillar D11 dozer.

[@davidjohanson8964]

A Amish friend of mine who runs 20 organic milk cows talks about the "milk lady" who comes around . She typically doesn't want to see chickens or pigs too close to the cow barn, lately she wanted to see them using one time use wipers for disinfecting the teats so Urie gets free newspapers for that, and it made her happy.

[@mrbill4187]

@@davidjohanson8964 I've had 5 milk inspectors the last 30 years and each one had some particular thing they seem to nit pick about that had nothing to do with milk quality😆. One was all the time making me patch concrete cracks or gouges. Another one had me whitewash every single year and the following inspector complained about flaking paint because there was 10 layers in 10 years😆. This last one complained about the location of my grain wagon outside the milkhouse that's been there 50 years back to when my dad milked. Meanwhile my gaskets in the pipeline probably need replacing but they never pay attention to the equipment milk actually touches🤣

[@markelliot6757]

Long live Trump’s tariffs. How stupid are the Rep and the Americans voted for Trump. You get what you voted. A criminal

[@strong40]

Have you followed the milk prices during the Biden years? I doubt it.

[@NicholeOconnnor]

Tha

[@josephlee6044]

youtube.com/@moo-hicans?si=oFMdsQJbfL_BI-Py

[@ArmpitStudios]

Damn it.