For a week now it’s been “Dairy Month.” In looking around to see what the dairy industry was doing to celebrate its power promotion month, I was astounded to see all the farms that are welcoming the public and educating the consumer about the goodness of milk – all while losing money on a daily basis.

There are farms hosting breakfasts, lunches, tours with games and live entertainment, cheese fests and anything else under the sun to educate the consumer.

You would have to be living under a rock not to know the state of the dairy industry, and that most of us are just hanging on and walk around saying, “But by the grace of God, go I.” Trying to survive the low prices, we’ve been digging ourselves a hole, but our misery is put on hold for a month.

Because it’s June, we are putting on our happy faces, serving ice cream to the public while Liz Claiborne-clad moms hold their noses and talk about the awful smell of the farm, while wiping the hot fudge smudge from their children’s faces.

Dairy farmers love to promote their product, and the promotional arm of the industry has developed first-rate materials to use in our promotional events. Yet, I wonder how many executives of the Big Three automakers actually work the assembly line from beginning to end, personally manage the employees on a daily basis, then spend a month out of the year to take consumers on a tour and give them a free car at the end of the tour?

And yet, dairymen all over the United States work that kind of schedule seven days a week, 365 days a year.

I’ve said this before: Dairy farmers are a unique group of individuals, stressing the individual part, and an amazingly resilient group of fighters. I only wish the average consumer could relate to their work ethic, the sacrifices made by the families and their deep love for the industry, all to produce a healthy product for the world.
In a conversation with my husband about Major League Baseball players, he was telling me how hard they work on a game day and how worn out they must get having to play three games in as many days. After some thought, my mind wandered to how many hours he works in a day, how many days a year he works those long hours and what he produces in the end.

The MLB player works eight hours at best; the dairy farmer puts in at least 14 hours. The MLB player works six months out of the year; the dairy farmer works every single day of the year. The MLB player produces entertainment; the dairy farmer produces basic nourishment, one of the essentials of life for infants to senior citizens.

The MLB player makes millions; the dairy farmer is losing money every single day he works. What’s right about that picture?
Regardless of the upside down picture I just presented, this June I’m not just celebrating the dairy industry – this June, Mr. Dairy Farmer, I celebrate YOU.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.