Better Days are Ahead
Bad times don’t last forever. Neither do good days. The mood of the industry quickly changed from an upbeat tone in 2022 to a sad melancholy note this summer.
A female entrepreneur, Jenni Young, says, “Every situation in life is temporary. So, when life is good, make sure you enjoyed and receive it fully. And when life isn’t so good, remember that it will not last forever and better days are on the way.”
Truer words haven’t been spoken.
Earlier this summer, our farm in northwest Illinois was in a major drought. We went more than six weeks without any rain and as my family and I headed out of town the end of June, we wondered if we would have enough feed to feed our cattle this fall. We were playing out all the worst-case scenarios in our heads. “Plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
And we prayed. A lot.
We returned from our trip four days later just in time to lose power after a storm brought us two inches of rain. I was never happier to not have power than to receive much-needed moisture. In return, our crops thanked us and showed quick signs of improvement. More rain followed over the next week and two weeks after our trip, we were reminded that patience, prayer and time really play a factor.
This is something I reminded my husband of when he opened up the July advance check. It was sobering, to say the least. A drastic change from the near-record high prices that last summer’s milk checks cashed out. We are reminded again that we must remain patient and give it time and pray hard for milk prices to rebound.
This is easier said than done, as low milk prices challenge us to pay the bills. And while the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) checks have been welcomed, they don’t stretch as far as we need them to. Personally, we are thankful for Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) coverage, but again, the high inputs quickly swallow up any extra cash.
As summer fades away, I want to remind you all that we are all in this together. Be patient. Cling to hope. Better days are on the horizon.
