7-9 IAN Starving Cows

 A different look at the pressure that confronts dairy producers in our state.

 I have reported recently in remarks from  Dr. Garth Taylor, agricultural economist at the University of Idaho and from Executive Director of the Idaho Dairyman’s Association, Bob Naerbout that dairymen in Idaho have a huge responsibility. The collective feeling is that the dairy industry is critical to Idaho’s overall agricultural economy. That said, dairy men are having trouble getting banks to loan them money for such a simple concept as feeding their livestock.  I had a related conversation with Cheri Chase, Communications Director of the Idaho Dairy Products Commission and she had a very humane perspective: “They keep telling these guys too bad and it is just scary, not only from an economic standpoint but what if they can’t feed their cows? Now you have animals out there starving. I don’t know. It’s just sad. It is sad and think of the stress on the dairy guys. Yeah. And I don’t think people realize, I think I was talking to a teacher about this, and I said the question will be, where will we get our food? I said if we don’t keep the food source here in America, we are going to be importing food from outside the country and not only will you see higher prices but you will not see quality food and that is what is scary.” So we don’t have the money to help our own but we give money to everybody else in the world.