Moving Milk in 2023: No Small Task
Hauling milk from the farm to the plant is no small task. With dairy farm consolidation, there are fewer farms for a milk truck to stop at. Although as dairies expand and grow, there is still plenty of milk to transport. Moving member milk was addressed at the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Annual (MDVA) Meeting last month in Hershey, Pa. Jason Smith, director of sales and logistics of milk marketing with MDVA, shared that they continue to compete with other companies to secure and maintain drivers.
“To be able to provide the [hauling] service, they need to be able to provide medium pay for drivers,” Smith stated, adding the national average truck driver is paid around $70,000 a year.
MDVA receives around 120 direct loads of member milk a day, with another 60 loads of outside milk funneling through their plants. To move that much volume of milk takes a dedicated team, one that Smith is proud of.
“Some days we look like heroes, while other days we’re pulling our hair out,” he says.
Inflation impact
Rose Redden, owner of JT Trucking, says that increases are felt at every corner, from fuel costs to insurance costs and more.
“It’s just kind of a trickle-down thing but you've got to cut here and cut there and move money around and make it work,” she says.
They have seen at least a 20% increase in cost across the board over the last five years.
Farm milk tanker trucks are harder to come by and Redden shared with the MDVA audience that if she put in an order today, the wait time is 12-18 months.
“Definitely our haulers are also seeing that side of the business to the pressures of inflation,” Smith adds, noting haulers cannot pass their costs down to the farmer.
Chris Zook, Terminal Manager of Earl T. Wadhams, adds there are two sides: the equipment side and the employee side.
A brand-new trailer once cost $250,000 and now is well north of $300,000 and parts shortage is a constant battle.
“I talked to the dealer. They got the truck sitting there for months on end waiting on parts,” says. “Tires are crazy. They're up 40% over the last couple of years. The employee side of it is health insurance. That's what really hurts us. That's up over 34%. We have hired several additional drivers and we've seen our overall wages go up roughly 23%.”
Kari Winnie, the production manager with MDVA, shared that she strives to keep the communication line with the haulers open which helps determine if she needs to shuffle milk around.
“The haulers are the ones keeping us on schedule,” she says. “They are the face behind us.”
To listen to the full panel from the MDVA, click on (100) Moving Milk in 2023 - YouTube
