Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15

United States. In fact, Joel was one of the first 16 patrons of the cooperative, and at one point, he
helped to organize the interim board.
The circumstances that Joel and his family experienced speak to the difficulties of rural life in the
United States. Joel feels that perhaps others in this country do not understand the sacrifices that farmers
make to produce food for them. Scenic Central Milk Producers is the best paying co-op in
Wisconsin and even provides retirement plans and Christmas bonuses. Moreover, since its
formation on July 1, 1999, the cooperative has never been in debt and has never wasted the farmers’
money. In spite of these benefits, Scenic Central could still not stop the exodus of dairy farmers from
the co-op. Joel thinks that there might actually be only one or two of the original sixteen cooperative
members left in the organization. The co-op has been shipping more milk, but has not been adding new
producers. Joel reasons that since there are barely any small to mid-size dairy farms left, Scenic Central
is constantly witnessing the attrition of smaller farms and the addition of larger ones.
Joel says that the main reason that the number of dairy farms is shrinking is that farmers do
not actually receive a price that sustains dairy farming. He argues that it is impossible for a
dairy farm to survive if the farmers are receiving less than the cost of production for their milk. Many
of the owners of larger farms do not care about pricing structure, because concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAFO) are often a tax write off for other corporations and businesses and are not intended
to be a “profit maker.” According to Joel, “when you have ex-basketball players, lawyers, and executives
owning farms, it isn’t because they’re making a living with a dairy farm. It’s just a convenient tax
shelter.” This system puts all the dairy farmers attempting to make a living at an extreme disadvantage,
and thus, partly explains why so many of the small scale dairy farms are disappearing.
Two years ago when Joel fell ill, he had to make the difficult decision of whether to keep his
dairy farming business. Although he had support from the bank to continue dairy farming, he and his
family decided against it. Joel still grows some organic hay and raises a few heifers and
young stock from his original farm; however, he is no longer a dairy farmer. After
recovering from his illness, Joel took a job as a level 1 CCE technician at an Ocean Spray® factory.
Even though Joel’s heart is still very much with the dairy industry, he does note that with his new job,
“At the end of two weeks, you have a paycheck and not a debt – so that’s a big difference.”
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