AR-News: (U.S. - Fl.) Milk Industry Turns Sour

[Mary Finelli]

MILK INDUSTRY TURNS SOUR
Low milk prices, shrinking industry threaten state dairy farmers' livelihood
The Gainesville Sun, Greg C. Bruno, Jan. 22, 2004

complete article:
http://gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040122/LOCAL/201220340/1007


Caption: Area dairy farmer Matt Lussier pets what he calls his favorite 
heifer while the rest of the herd stands by. Lussier says he spends a good 
deal of time interacting with the animals.


Hawthorne - Matt Lussier used to dream about his children taking over the 
family farm. With 500 milking cows, 112 acres and generations of Lussier 
dairymen for his kids to emulate, the idea seemed a natural one for a 
successful North Florida farmer. But that was two years ago.

Since then, milk prices have bottomed out, and the industry Lussier grew up 
in is in peril. With debts mounting and cash running low, the 38-year-old 
Vermont native isn't even sure Lussier Dairy Inc. will be around when his 
son or daughter are ready for the responsibility. "It's kind of sad," 
Lussier said Tuesday as he toured the hay fields and milking stalls of his 
eastern Alachua County farm, north of Hawthorne on U.S. 301. "Once you wipe 
out the industry, it just doesn't come back."

Fueled by a weak economy and a national milk surplus, record-low milk prices 
during the past two years have forced farmers like Lussier in Florida - and 
others across the country - to reconsider their commitment to a struggling 
dairy industry.

The numbers speak for themselves.

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