Can you convert a new trailer with duals to super singles?

Your not, im only arguing that 10 bucks a gallon will not be profitable for everyone. Merely stating that you hope fuel goes to $10 a gallon to wash out all the fly by night companies is great, but there are companies that also cant afford that $10 gallon of fuel like you can, but these companies arent fly by night bottom of the barrel either. Your shoes do not fit on my feet driver.

 

Same thing with us grain haulers, I'd like to see the price of corn go back up to 7 bucks a bushel so they're a little more willing to pay to have it hauled.

 

We dont have that problem, no payment to hauler means no pick up. But it all comes out before the farmers cut anyway.
The most recent price i looked at was paying $14 a hundred. Take one of my 75 milking cow farms producing 7k pounds of milk right now coming off the spring flush.

7000 pounds ÷100 pounds= 70
70 ×14.00 is $980 for 4 milkings in 2 days.
Take a week where hes picked up 3 times and he'll make $2940 gross for 7 days worth of work to pay for everything for the last week. Profitable? Far from it.

Thats why so many small dairy farms around here have been falling out like flys in a bug zapper. There is more to be made in crops alone, but the return is spread out more. Maybe you have less than desirable land and cant make a good yield...? But its good enough for the cows.

People need milk, when youve been milking for all your life, all your fathers and all their grandfathers.... i understand why for some its easier to suck it up and keep on keeping on. I also understand why the small guys are getting out.

 

Yea I used to milk for a guy and he said he lost money every time I milked the cows. He bought a newer combine and then built a nice machine shed so I think he's making money off crops and using the dairy as a nice tax write off.

 

If the price of fuel sky rockets all those hobby truckers you have to compete with will be out of business, creating a lower supply of trucks which will raise the rate you can charge. Its basic economics, the greater supply of a product or service, the lower the cost of such good/service. Either demand must raise or supply must lower. This applies to every segment of our economy, with the exception of government subsidised industries like the rail companies and farming in some states.

 

That or all the farmers are going to figure they can save more of their own money and haul it themselves.

 

They can't. Milk haulers pull for peanuts. Its one of the lowest paying segments in trucking. Worse than grain.

 

You hit the nail on the head. Supply and demand is key in this economy for making a buck. Part of PA.s problem and the countries for that matter is too much of one thing in one sector. Once everyone realizes that and moves to producing something else but in the same industry, rinse, repeat and no one gets ahead.

 

A couple of us haulers are already doing such. Its called a co op, but as spyder said about supply and demand, there is too much milk in this country and not enough people buying it. The federal government has a hand in that too, buying milk and cheese from overseas. Don't forget about walmart opening their own dairy and dairy farms to produce what was already there but now double.

 

I don't know anybody pulling milk tanker I guess, grain doesn't pay too bad really.