Photos by SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

Erwin Ward, who is struggling to stay in business, has one of 77 dairy farms in Franklin County, the state's second largest dairy-producing locality.

Erwin Ward, who says he has weathered many trials in his 25 years of dairy farming, doesn't have enough money to cover the cost of cutting the corn he uses in feed for his cows. Unless ways are found to make more money, Franklin County may lose some of its dairy farmers.

A national dairy official said one problem driving the low prices paid to farmers is that there is more milk than can find a home.

ROCKY MOUNT -- One local farmer estimates that Franklin County will lose 10 percent to 15 percent of its dairy farmers soon if something isn't done to raise milk prices.

The ongoing recession and an excess of dairy products continue to take their toll on the nation's dairy farmers. Local and national leaders are starting to address the problem that has been going on for months.

"It's still pretty bleak," said Charles Brown, a dairy farmer in Snow Creek. "You can't switch a dairy on and off, that's why we try to live through this. This is the worst time we've been through in my experience."

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors took up the issue Tuesday at its monthly meeting.

"It frustrates us because we don't know what to do," Boone District Supervisor David Hurt said. The board has already sent a letter to its congressional representatives asking for help to address the problem.

Franklin County is the state's second largest dairy producer after Rockingham County. Seventy-seven of the 1,043 farms in the county are dairies, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

Earlier this year, analysts predicted that March would be the low point in dairy prices with small increases in June. Instead, farmers have seen a steady decline in payment for their product, said Beverly Cox, dairy specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. And unless the price recovers quickly, she agrees that the county stands to lose some of its farmers.

Erwin Ward said he's struggling to keep his dairy in the Redwood community up and running.

"We're working every day and going broke," he said. "We've about used up all our assets and savings trying to keep going."

Like many area farmers, Ward is part of a cooperative that distributes his product.

With most cooperatives, farmers turn their product over to the cooperative and later receive their payment. Ward said the farmers have no say on price. And no matter how expensive dairy products get in the stores, it doesn't translate to their wallets.

"I have no clue what I'll make each month," he said.

One problem driving the low prices is there is more milk than can find a home, said Chris Galen, spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation. And the problem isn't just local, it's global, he said.

This is not the first time the industry has struggled with low prices. In 2002 through the beginning of 2003, prices were actually lower, Galen said. The difference is the cost of production is higher this time around.

Eventually the market will work itself out, he said, but in the meantime, the group is trying to work with the federal government to provide short-term relief.

Starting this month through October, the USDA will increase the amount paid for dairy products through the Dairy Product Price Support Program. According to a news release, the department estimates that the change will increase dairy farmers revenue by $243 million across the country.

To farmers, it won't be enough to get prices back in line, Galen said, but the goal is to provide some assistance, not to be a windfall.

Since prices have been low for so long the help is minimal, Brown said.

Low-interest loans, the Dairy Export Incentive Program and taking some dairy products out of the market and using them for the Food and Nutrition Service are ways the USDA has attempted to ease the crisis.

Galen considers all of the government assistance modest.

"They're Band-Aids, not plastic surgery," he said.

Fifth Congressional District Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Albemarle County, recently joined the Congressional Dairy Caucus, a bipartisan effort to solve the diary crisis.

Perriello said he has long been concerned with the cooperative system. "The middle man aspect is not good for farmers. It's not sustainable," he said.

Perriello said he also wants to ensure that the smaller dairy farmers that make up his central, rural Virginia district aren't taken over or driven out by larger producers.

The caucus's missions deal with immediate and short-term solutions, he said. Work is ongoing to increase farmers' reimbursement and to deal with structural problems including excess product and the import/export process.

The National Milk Producers Federation has created its own task force to look for long-term solutions.

One idea has been a price stabilization program in which each dairy producer is assigned a quota, Galen said. If that quota is exceeded, the producer would have to pay a penalty. Because it would be a national program, Congress would have to approve it. But Galen said more research is needed to see how it would affect the competitiveness of the United States and how it would affect exports.

Another option being considered is setting a price based on production cost, Cox said.

The industry can't seem to agree on a solution, she said. Specifically, there's an East Coast, West Coast divide. In the West, production costs are lower, Cox said, so what works for them wouldn't necessarily work for farmers in the East.

Until a solution is found, Brown and Ward say they'll join other farmers in trying to hold on to their livelihood.