I live in the country and breathe our lousy air like everyone else. I like reggae music. I used to teach math in high school and coach the soccer team. I currently farm 36 acres of almonds here in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. I grow a lot of my own food in a large backyard (and front yard) garden.
We will have air someday that meets federal health standards. I think the air was pretty good when I looked up at my great grandfather in the photo below. My goal is to experience it again in my lifetime.
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Very nice site, so glad you’re doing this, Airqualityguy.
And I think to myself, “What a wonderful world”.
http://californiaagnet.com/pages/landing_news?blockID=631557&feedID=2523
Happy California Cows But Not Happy Dairymen
Modesto, Calif. (September 9, 2012) – The suicide of a San Joaquin Valley
dairyman this summer has renewed efforts to get counseling help to those in the
dairy industry as troubled times continue unceasingly. Western United Dairymen
and the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program are co-sponsoring a webinar
September 25th to go over resources available to those in the industry who are
cracking under the pressures that high feed costs, increasing regulations and
government-mandated low prices are causing.
“We’ve revitalized our efforts that we started back in 2008-2009 with outreach
to dairy producers.” said Michael Marsh, CEO of WUD. “One of the challenges for
dairymen is they’re so tied to what they do. You ask a dairyman what he does,
he says, ‘well, I’m a dairyman.’ And their identity is wrapped up in that.”
Marsh says that causes extreme stress as they see a family business that may
have been started by their parents, grandparents or great grandparents being
liquidated out from under their feet. Many of the 48 dairies that went bankrupt
in 2011 and also those in financial danger today were able to make it through
the Great Depression but might not survive today.
Adding to the distress is that it appears those who should be working for the
industry are working against it. While the Federal Milk Marketing Order sets
prices for the nation’s dairy industry, California has its own, more restrictive
policy. And there are regulations that, says Marsh, “Don’t exist anywhere else
on earth.” CDFA Secretary Karen Ross says the policy must look out for the
interests of other stakeholders in the dairy industry like cheesemakers when it
comes to setting prices… and refusing requests to raise them. However, there
are no protections for dairymen when it comes to their input costs. A
cheesemaker has price protection but the cost of feed can go as high as the
market will bear. That difference is what’s driving dairies out of business.
If there could be yet another factor that makes facing the hard times more
difficult it’s that all other aspects of agriculture are swimming in good
fortune. Not that dairymen would suffer from envy, but those who have been
working to reduce military suicides have noted that never-ending pressures and
no signs of relief in sight can add up. As they see others they know living
normal lives, it makes it all the more difficult.