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Full-Text Articles in Social Work
Nurturing Thenext Generation Of Wisconsin’S Dairy Farmers, B. Barham, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, S. Stevenson, J. Taylor
Nurturing Thenext Generation Of Wisconsin’S Dairy Farmers, B. Barham, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, S. Stevenson, J. Taylor
Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications
A strong dairy economy has both economic and social benefits for Wisconsin. While support for beginning dairy farmers is not the only way to sustain and increase dairy productivity, it is an important strategy that can renew the dairy industry with new farmers. There are many challenges in attracting new people to the dairy business. New dairy farmers often face high start-up costs for land, equipment, and facilities. Volatile milk prices, long hours, and hard work reduce the appeal of a career in dairy farming. In the 1990s, prospective dairy farmers could readily find off-farm jobs that often paid better …
How Wisconsin Farmers Feed Theircows: Results Of The 1999 Wisconsin Dairy Herd Feeding Study, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, J. M. Powell
How Wisconsin Farmers Feed Theircows: Results Of The 1999 Wisconsin Dairy Herd Feeding Study, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, J. M. Powell
Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications
The Wisconsin dairy industry has seen dramatic changes over the last 20 years (Jackson- Smith and Barham, 2000). Overall, dairy farm numbers have been cut in half since the early 1980s, and the average size of remaining herds has increased by more than 60 percent (from roughly 40 cows to over 65 cows per herd). Despite these changes, most dairies are still single-family businesses, relying on household members for virtually all their farm labor requirements (Buttel et al., 2000). In 1998, state statistics suggested that over 70 percent of Wisconsin dairy operations were milking between 30 and 99 cows, and …
Getting In While The Going's Tough: Entry In Thewisconsin Farm Sector, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith
Getting In While The Going's Tough: Entry In Thewisconsin Farm Sector, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith
Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications
In recent years, there has been growing public attention to an apparent decline in the rate at which young people have been entering the Wisconsin farm sector. Interest in farm entry arises from a public policy concern that if too few young people enter farming in the coming decade, the viability of the Wisconsin farm sector in general, and the dairy industry in particular, could be threatened. A number of public and private initiatives to assist beginning farmers have been proposed, and a few programs including subsidized loans and planning for a computerized land-link system to match entering and exiting …