LANCASTER, Pa.—Dairy farmers are facing overwhelming odds, especially in these months of low milk prices, the tumbling economy and the regulations they face in trying to feed the world.
The prices are causing farmers to scramble to find ways to keep afloat in the hopes that milk prices will rise to respectable levels. The additional stress, the workload and dealing with an unknown future are taking its toll on many farmers.
Mary Schmidt of Conneautville, about 30 miles southwest of Erie, thought she was hiding her fears, anger and the emotional pain of dealing with low farm prices, lenders, attorneys and contractors that had forced the family farm operation into filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Then she saw a snapshot of herself.
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