Local Dairy Farmers Struggling

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Story Published: Jul 16, 2009 at 6:42 PM PDT

By Ryan Simms

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SUNNYSIDE -- Shoppers may be welcoming low prices of milk at the grocery store, but local dairy farmers are feeling the pain of diminished profits.

As dairy farms across Yakima County cope with a drop in milk prices, farmer Bill Scheenstra tries to stay positive.

"You just have to keep that optimistic viewpoint and keep plugging along," Scheenstra tells Action News.

Scheenstra is the owner of a massive farm in Sunnyside. He's been in the dairy business his entire life. Scheenstra is now trying to deal with the current crisis in the dairy industry.

"Dairymen are losing anywhere from one to five dollars per cow," says Scheenstra, who has more than 1,300 head of cattle at his farm. As a result, he's losing more than $6,000 each day.

Among the casualties of diminished profits are reduced labor costs and a halt on future projects.

Scheenstra tells Action News there are some areas where he won't make any cutbacks. "You still have to keep the cows happy, and keep them producing milk, so you can't scrimp on everything"

The current dairy crisis could last until the end of the year. 15-Percent of diary farmers have already declared bankruptcy.

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