The concerns of many in the central and western regions of New York State about this week's extreme weather have centered around transportation issues, public services, and the fact that the area's major sports teams have had to postpone games or change venues.  But the storm has had an unforseen impact on another industry.

For the first time ever for some, many of the region's dairy farmers have had to dump their milk.  Because milk trucks cannot get through, and milk stays fresh for only so long, mom and pop farms have had to pour thousands of gallons of milk down drains and onto fields.

Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
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Rochelle Lyn and Patrick Hulton are the owners of Hulton Farms located in the Wyoming County town of Arcade, New York where Hulton herself says, "...there (are) more cows than there are people."  As of the 2010 census Arcade had a population of just over 4,200 - people, that is.

Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
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Hulton Farms employs mostly family with one or two part-time workers.  It is considered to be a small dairy farm with a total of 120 head, including cows and young stock.  They are a part of Bliss, New York based Westco Milk Producers Coop, which has jumped in the last year from 10-12 members to at least 17 now.

Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
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Hulton Farms consists of 197 acres owned by the Hulton family with another 400 acres rented from neighbors.  The second generation farm was purchased by Hulton's in-laws in 1965.  Her husband, Patrick, purchased the farm from his parents in 1980.

Photo Credit: Google Earth
Photo Credit: Google Earth
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Hulton Farms has had to dump almost a thousand gallons of milk since the storm.

To understand why the milk must be dumped it is important to understand how it gets from the farm to the market. Cow's milk is first pumped then filtered, cooled, and stored.  Storage takes place on the dairy farms and there the milk is stored in tanks until it is picked up by haulers who then transport it to creameries and processors.

Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission by Kristine Bellino, WIBX / Townsquare Media
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Storage tanks vary in size.  The tanks at the Hulton Farm store about 6,500 pounds of milk.  The average gallon of milk equates to about eight pounds, per Hulton, and therefore their tanks hold approximately 812.5 gallons.

Last night they dumped about 6,000 pounds, or 750 gallons.  That was the result of just about two and a half days of milking.  Hulton estimates the cost of last night's dump to be about $1,500.  She says that most farms cannot hold more than two days' worth of milk. In fact, she says, some farms can only hold a day's milk.  Those farms must truck their milk out every day.

Regardless of whether or not it gets picked up, the cows must be milked daily.  If, for some reason, the truck cannot make it through soon, that too will be dumped.

Truck Stuck in Snow on Route 400 in West Seneca Photo Credit: Bruce Walton; Photo Courtesy: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission
Truck Stuck in Snow on Route 400 in West Seneca Photo Credit: Bruce Walton; Photo Courtesy: Rochelle Lyn Hulton, used with permission
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Hulton said they held out hope that a truck would be able to make it through, and held onto their milk a bit longer than they should have.  Consequently they ran out of time and options and had to dump the milk down a drain.  She said that they could have dumped it in a field, to provide some fertilizer for the next growing season, if they had the luxury of time.  Unfortunately, many underestimated the full impact of the storm.

Hulton says she thinks there is an end in sight and hopes to have the milk picked up tomorrow.

As to whether the government may provide emergency financial relief to those dairy farmers adversely affected by the storm, Hulton says that there are rumors to that effect, but thus far she has not been able to confirm whether or not word of any relief is true.

The question on the average consumer's mind is whether or not this will affect area milk prices.  While it may be too early to determine that, analysts agree that in the short term the cold is unlikely to have a significant impact on milk prices overall.  However, for mom and pop farmers the effect is profound.  Milk producers receive a check the month after their milk is picked up and distributed to creameries and processing plants.  That means a November shortage results in a smaller December paycheck.

And just how big is the payout for dairy farmers?  Hulton says in October milk paid approximately $27 per one hundred pounds.  That is about twelve and a half gallons.  When you compare the actual price of milk - which is currently between $4 and $6 a gallon on average - or between $50 and $75 for 12.5 gallons - it is easy to see that little of that ends up in the pockets of the farmers.  More than half the cost of milk goes to distributors who pick up and deliver the milk.  Costs, like that of purchasing and maintaining equipment, hiring staff, and feeding the cows, come from the less than 50% per gallon that the farmers earn.  In short, for dairy farmers, every penny counts.  When those pennies up up being flushed down the drain they count even more.

As the trucks finally make their way through, another round of snow is forecast to hit the western part of the state, promising more challenges for dairy farmers in the coming days. Fortunately, there is no expiration date on the resiliency of the American dairy farmer.

 


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