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It’s Like Having 100 Kids

(FRIENDSVILLE, MARYLAND) โ€“ Itโ€™s 7 a.m. and โ€œthe girlsโ€ are already lined up, tails swishing impatiently as Garrett County farmer Billy Bishoff switches on the lights in his familyโ€™s milking parlor.

Cows have been a central part of life on the farm here since 1958, when Billyโ€™s dad, George, bought a herd to diversify the farm income.

โ€œHaving cows is like having 100 kids,โ€ Bishoff quips. โ€œEvery morning you go out and somebody has gotten into trouble somehow. Somebody might need the vet. Somebody broke through a fence. Somebodyโ€™s not getting along with somebody else.โ€

They milk โ€œon the 7sโ€ โ€” thatโ€™s 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. โ€” twice a day, every day, even Christmas. Their farm is the last dairy in the Friendsville area, and one of a few remaining in Garrett County. And soon, when Bishoff reaches for the parlorโ€™s light switch, itโ€™ll be for the last time.

โ€œThe number of dairies has been dropping for the past 80 years,โ€ he explains. โ€œWe simply produce more milk than the market can consume. That leads to drop in prices, and that ends up forcing some people out of business.โ€

Dairy prices, like those for all farm commodities, have their ups and downs. But right now โ€“ in early 2018 โ€“ the dairy industry in Maryland and nationwide has experienced an extraordinarily extended downturn that began in 2015. Itโ€™s costing farmers more to make milk than they receive from their buyers, and thatโ€™s a situation that many dairy farmers canโ€™t afford to wait out.

While many farms are facing foreclosure, for the Bishoff family, transitioning out of the dairy has been in their plans. โ€œIt takes continuous investment in technology and the farmโ€™s infrastructure to operate at peak efficiency. And for us, as a smaller dairy, we couldnโ€™t achieve the economies of scale and return on investment we would need to justify reinvesting in new equipment,โ€ Bishoff says. โ€œItโ€™s time to wind it down.โ€

Itโ€™s a business, after all, but itโ€™s undeniably poignant to close this chapter. Bishoff pauses then adds, โ€œDairy farms are part of the texture, part of the character of the rural environment. As we lose these farms we lose that texture, that quality.โ€

His family is pondering new ideas to keep the 350-acre farm thriving: Besides raising corn, soybeans and hay, the family may graze some beef cattle. And, because it is Garrett County, they can tap into maple sugar production (pun intended). Meanwhile, other dairy farmers have explored value-added enterprises, like making and selling cheese and ice cream.

Stay tuned as the Bishoff family begins a new chapter.

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