DAIRY FARMERS GATHER FOR ANNUAL PICNIC

Adair County dairy farm families took a break from the day-to-day grind Friday night to attend the annual Dairy Farmers Appreciation Picnic held at the Adair County Fairgrounds.
A crowd of around 135 people turned out for the annual event, which included a cookout (with the food cooked by representatives from the local banks), brief talks by representatives from various dairy-related associations, and drawings for a variety of door prizes.
Those attending the picnic and assisting with it included Maury Cox, Executive Director of the Kentucky Dairy Development Council, Terry Rowlett, president of the American Dairy Association (ADA) of Kentucky, and J.J. Collins, local events manager for the Southeastern United Dairy Industry Association (SUIDA).
While the number of dairy farms in Adair County has declined in recent years, the county remains one of the state’s top milk producing counties.
According to USDA statistics, in 2007, Adair County ranked third in the state in milk production, trailing only Barren and Logan counties, producing an estimated 75,800,000 pounds of milk. The county ranks second in the number of dairy cows.
While milk prices are much improved from what they were just a few years ago, dairy    farmers are facing the same problems encountered by all other agriculture producers – increased production costs.
“Milk prices are up, but the cost of everything else is up too,” KDDC Executive Director Maury Cox said. “Feed costs are up, fuel costs are up, and fertilizer costs are up.”
Cox said that the milk/feed ratio (the price of milk compared to price of the feed required to produce it) is going to be the lowest this year that it has been in several years.