"After 40 years of dairy farming, I sold my herd of cows this summer. The herd had been in my family since 1904; I know all 45 cows by name. I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to take over our farm — who would? Dairy farming is little more than hard work and possible economic suicide."The ex-farmer is from Wisconsin, he switched from conventional to organic mid career, and blames "organic milk" from Texas as a cause of his problems.
Here' a USAToday story which provides some further background.
One complaint is whether the cows producing the organic milk actually graze in the fields. (Not that Wisconsin cows graze in the fields 12 months of the year.)
I've sympathy for the plight. Back in my youth 45 cows was a good-sized farm, about the size of my uncle's farm (formerly my grandfather's). Giving up a way of life is hard, particularly when you feel passed over by progress.
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