This is a sad news story I read online :(

MissyMoo · #1 01/23/10, 12:46 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100123/...y_cows_suicide

Callieslamb · #2 01/23/10, 10:12 AM

So sad. I can just see all those neighbors gathering to help bury them and not talking.

Gregg Alexander · #3 01/23/10, 02:07 PM

Sad but not surprising dairy farming has been on the skids for the last couple of yrs, it is going to get far worse

springvalley · #4 01/23/10, 08:12 PM

Very, very, SAD!! being a dairy farmer I somewhat understand what he was going through. But suicide is a long term solution for a short term problem. He has no more problems, but his famlies have just begun. Faith, and family can see you through some realy bad times. Shooting the cows was a waste of cows his family could have sold for some badly needed cash. No one will ever know what was going on in his mind, guess he was just tired of fighting the system. Thanks Marc.

i

**gone-a-milkin** · #5 01/23/10, 10:18 PM

This story has haunted me all day. The pain that farmer was going through to make him go to that extreme, I can only imagine.

FarmerChick · #6 01/23/10, 10:36 PM

obviously deep depression or mental disability has to be involved.

my best friend has a dairy and milks about 125 right now. They are having it so rough. Lost $140,000 from last year on the farm. Being older, they are going to struggle a few more years to hit early retirement and take it. Small dairies are a dying breed now.

Madsaw · #7 01/24/10, 07:41 AM

Being from a small farm myself, I can not say I know what the guy went through. Thats because no one can say what was going on in his head. But being the one that does the feild work milking and every thign else here I can say each day is a challenge. With ti saying he farmed by himself with out other family help. Just makes me wonder if it was by his choice or teh lack of interest from the rest of the famliy. That would be the reason for only shooting the milk cows. That way he was not troubling the rest of the famliy to milk after his passing and they could just sell off the young stock. You can see this on every famliy farm to a degree. The unwillingness to help. Had one neighbor get done with chores one morn and a big dairy guy just happened to stop by that day. The big guy was offered the cows and the land to rent just because the hired helper did not show up that day.
If it was me it would be a hard to do something like that, but then again knowing what kind of treatment the cattle might get after I am gone. I just might do what he did. A person puts alot of love sweat and heart ache into farming.
Bob

francismilker · #8 01/24/10, 10:45 AM

It is a terribly tragic story. I feel for the family that's left to deal with the loss of a loved one and tying up all the loose ends. Whether they helped with the dairy chores or not, they still lost a husband, daddy, friend, companion. We will never know what was going on in his mind. We can only hope we never get to that point. God Bless him and his family during these times.

As a side note, one of the major reasons I'm not in the dairy business is because my wife wants nothing to do with being tied down 24/7/365. She is totally content with her accounting job in town and loves being off nights and weekends. I can't say that I blame her. One must work where their passions lead them. If I had to go to a scientific lab every day and crunch numbers along side my wife, I'd most likely end up in the shape of this dairy farmer. Also, my kids are growing up fast and I might end up having to hire help in the near future. Not too many folks I'd be willing to trust with my milking chores.