Capital News Service
For the past 25 years, Leann Szakal and her husband have operated a dairy farm with 80 cows in Corunna, Michigan, with the help of their three children.
As the price of milk began to decline in 2015 and operating costs increased, Szakal struggled to meet her operating loan payments with GreenStone Farm Credit Services. Unable to make the payments in spring 2020, Szakal refinanced her loan which she will now repay over the next 20 years.
“Input costs have drastically changed in the last five years,” Szakal said. “It’s nearly impossible for a small farm to survive because input costs are too high.”