Summer of COVID

Everything seems so normal here ...

We're milking and feeding and harvesting as always
The boys are playing baseball
I just finished teaching 91 students in swimming lessons
My brother, sister, cousins, aunt, uncle just visited from various states

However ...

There's an executive order to wear masks
There's a question about in-person school in the fall
The news is filled with horrible headlines

It all, really, just seems so far away.  Our lives, as much as we can control them, are the same.

The cows don't care - they're still getting milked.  The boys are still doing calf chores.  Our wonderful team - plus all the vets, nutritionists, hoof trimmer, custom harvest guys - are all working just like normal.  There's never been a time they didn't.

That's what we do ... not only do we do it because it's our job, we do it because we all need to eat. 

Looking around at the farm, you would never know anything was different.  Let's hope we all get back to that soon.

Farming during a pandemic - Lansing State Journal

The Lansing State Journal was looking for a viewpoint of farming during a pandemic, and Michigan Farm Bureau connected us.  Here's my op-ed in today's paper:

Wardin: Pandemic doesn't stop St Johns farming

What's going on now...

A few people have asked about milk …

Despite the panic buying of milk, the closing of restaurants and schools, plus the disruption of exports, means that we have lost a huge percentage of our market. (Approximately 45% of cheese sold in the U.S. goes through restaurants, and approximately 7% of fluid milk goes through schools.)

Fluid milk is perishable, so it can’t be stored. Milk powder can be stored, but warehouses are full. Milk processing plants are running at the highest level, but it’s impossible for them to keep up with the excess.

The price farmers get for milk is predicted to fall over 30% this spring. This isn’t going to change until restaurants reopen, schools resume, and our export markets stabilize.

All businesses are suffering. April can’t go fast enough. I want things back to normal as soon as possible.

If you would like to donate fresh milk to people in need in your community, you can go here: https://milklife.com/give/donate