The Shadow
HARRISONBURG (AP) – Virginia’s dairy farmers are hoping to rebound from last year’s steep decline in milk prices that left many struggling to stay in business.
Virginia State Dairymen’s Association executive director Eric Paulson says milk prices fell from as high as $25 a hundredweight in 2008 to less than half that amount last year.
The current price is $15 to $16 a hundredweight, which is 100 pounds of milk.
Dairyman Gerald Heatwole says milk prices in 2009 were the lowest in 23 years. He says most dairy farmers had red ink.
Paulson says the outlook for 2010 is better, with milk prices slowly rising. But he says dairy farmers will have to have a great year to make up for last year’s losses.
