- The cooling was one
that had tremendous affect in the industry,
but then the improvement
of the genetics of the livestock, the cows.
And that was done mainly by a lot of the breeding studs,
where we could share the genetics of the male side,
or the bulls.
But then we have developed embryo transplant,
what actually changed a lot of this,
because you could transfer better genetics
to improve the milk of those cows.
- Genetics had been an important role
in the improvement of dairy.
I think some of the technology has helped
our understanding of milk production
and what we can achieve by production and today's standard.
I mean when I first started,
cows would maybe give maybe 7,000 pounds,
which would be equated to maybe a 1,000 gallons in a year.
And now we're probably three times that,
so we're lookin' at a huge jump in production.
- Getting up at 4:30 in the morning to milk cows (laughs)
that has to be...
And you do it 365 days a year,
the cows never leave.
But you develop a pattern and you really enjoy that,
because even yet today that we've sold the dairy,
I still get up at 4:30,
five o'clock, (chuckles)
and that should not happen.
But it does, and that is...
And we kid and joke about it a lot of times,
that that's the interesting thing,
but we can joke and kid about it,
but that has always been something that's difficult.
But it just is something you learn
and it's a commitment,
365 days a year.
It's interesting we've,
I don't think at this particular time
we've felt a lot of change,
but there's always consumers
who would like to buy something different.
We in the dairy industry are very disappointed
because there's a very definite definition of what milk is.
And that has been under the federal orders
since way back in the early '30s;
the Federal Order System
that tells and defines what milk is.
- I think the big challenge that we have
in the dairy industry,
and consumers as well,
is to make sure that they realize
they're comparin' the same thing.
Because as those other alternative beverages,
whether it be soy or almond,
they don't have the same nutrient profile that milk has,
and the natural vitamins and calcium
that's delivered to the person can be slightly different.
I mean almond is definitely lower,
soy is comparable in protein,
but maybe not so much on some of the others.
So I think...
But the consumer's telling us that they want some changes.
Fairlife is an example of a change that's come out
in the milk industry that is milk,
that's higher in protein,
and is lactose-free.
And because of that,
that product is actually doing very,
very well in the marketplace,
and I think we need more of those type of innovations
to change the industry.
The future in Dekalb County does not look real good,
simply because we're havin' a huge increase in urbanization.
There's very few dairies left
and I would say that down the road eventually
you're gonna see those displaced
or moved to another location
that's more conducive to rural agriculture
and animal production in general.
- We had near 100 and some a number of years ago.
We have four left.
And at this particular time,
the price structure for milk,
a small dairy or a dairy farmer,
is really at a loss of what he's...
The milk price does not cover his cost of taxes,
feed, labor and so on.
So I think it's very limited here,
especially because of our metropolitan area
moving this direction.
The farm that I mentioned on Plank Road
at the curve where the North School is,
has way in excess of 200 new homes and a beautiful school,
and that used to be a dairy farm.
And that is going to continue,
people have to move out into...
Especially into our Sycamore area
because Sycamore just is quite a unique city.