Struggles similar on Massachusetts dairy farm

Dairy farmers in Massachusetts struggle to make good-quality feed, make ends meet when milk prices are low and push the limit on cow numbers to keep their farms afloat. At least that’s what a contingent from Wisconsin learned Oct. 9 when they visited the Jordan Dairy Farm near Rutland, Mass. The group of 25 visited the farm as part of a New England states tour organized by The Country Today and Viking Travel.The farm is not what some people might call a showplace dairy operation, but visitors were able to get a feel for similarities and differences between dairy farming in Massachusetts and Wisconsin.Brothers Randy and Brian Jordan represent the fifth generation of Jordans to operate the farm since the Jordans moved into Worcester County in 1885. The family has been operating at the Rutland location since 1943.Their herd size has grown from 60 cows in 1943 to about 300 today. They own and rent about 1,000 acres within a 22-mile radius of the farmstead.Jordan said the family increased its herd size out of necessity, not just to get bigger.“It was about sustainability more than anything,” he said. “It’s not that we want to milk 300 cows, it’s because we have to milk 300 cows. It’s just a sheer fact that at the end of the day, the bank needs to get its money whether we’re milking 100 or 300 cows.