HONESDALE -- Whoever becomes president may have to address the ongoing problem facing dairy farmers: fluctuating prices of milk.
Inside the gym at Honesdale High School, farmers and the businesses they rely on came together to talk about what matters to them. Lately, the price of milk has been the topic that's risen to the top of their concerns.
"It's getting tougher and tougher and tougher because the cost around you just continues to rise," said dairy farmer and Wayne County Commissioner Brian Smith.
Smith has seen the number of dairy farms dwindle from 1,200 in Wayne County some 40 years ago to just 60 now.
Farmers now face a smaller pay-out for their product after prices peaked a couple of years ago.
"2014 was a banner year, the last 16-18 months have been a struggle, price wise, inventories are up, production is up.. at times it makes it difficult to market the milk," said Andrew Dean with Dairy Farmers of America.
"They've been doing this the last 30 years, everything else has gone up," said Doug Stinnard of Lindsey Equipment.
That includes the price for feed which could cost some larger farms big bucks.
"It's not uncommon for them to run 10-20 ton of feed a month at $400-500 dollars a ton," said Adam Johnson of Narrowsburg Feed and Grain.
So what is there to do?
Farmers plan to take on the current federal formula for milk pricing and are set to meet Tuesday in Wyoming County.
