Bob and Gene Ropelato love their work.
Their shifts run from 1 to 8 a.m. and 1 to 8 p.m. every day of the week. During their "off" hours, the Ropelatos have to watch over and care for their business assets, fix equipment and improve their facilities.
But their efforts do not guarantee a profit. Their expenses have skyrocketed over the past few years, while their product's market price has often been volatile, but overall stayed about the same.
Sound like a dream job? Or more like a nightmare?
For the Ropelatos, it's everyday life on a Weber County dairy farm.
"Whether it's a misfortune or a good fortune, we like to work with animals," Bob Ropelato, 49, said. "This is the finest thing in the world for us, because we enjoy it. But at least it would be nice to get something back for your investment."
Bob and Gene Ropelato milk 340 cows on the farm their father started in 1936. The brothers took over the operation in the mid-1960s.
Since then, they have survived the pressures - weather, urban sprawl, fluctuating prices, environmental concerns - that have led to a reduction in the number of Utah dairy farms from 628 in 1995 to 526 today.
People should be worried about that reduction, Bob Ropelato said, because they will have to pay more for milk, cheese and butter if big marketing companies are running all the farms in 10 or 15 years.
But the Ropelatos do not see an end to the current trend.
Gene Ropelato, 55, said seven nearby dairymen called it quits just last year. Usually farmers sell their land, because they get tired of working hard for no return, he said. And their farms often become subdivisions, he said, because not many people are looking to buy a dairy operation.
"It's too bad we can't make a suitable living doing this," Bob Ropelato said. "It's an enjoyable racket, but you just don't know what the future holds . . . It seems like we're at the mercy of all the other pressures."
John Degiorgio, 32, and his brother Dave, 49, milk 150 cows on a Weber County dairy farm their grandfather started in the early 1900s.
"I like working outside, and I like working with cows," John Degiorgio said. "The main thing is I like being my own boss. But for the investment you've got tied up in it, you don't get much back."
Harry Papageorge, 64, and his brother, Jim, bought their Weber County dairy farm from their father in 1960. They milk 160 cows and farm about 150 acres. It's a way of life they have loved since they were children, and they have made a good living in the past, Papageorge said.
But times are changing.
A dairy probably needs 500 cows to be profitable these days, Papageorge said, and those profits are smaller than they once were.
"I don't look to see a lot of dairies on the Wasatch Front within another 10 years," he said. "Unless you are very well financed or inherit a business, it would be impossible to start from scratch today."
Bob Ropelato said many people see the dairy farmer's land and house and tractors and assume he is wealthy. But they do not understand that the farmer's land is an investment; he probably built much of his own house, and he is in heavy debt for the equipment.
For example, the modern dairy uses expensive technology ranging from computers (the Ropelatos have two) and fax machines to advanced genetics services for breeding. Overall costs of production have tripled since the Ropelatos took over the operation in the '60s, they said. Tractors are 10 times more expensive.
The Ropelatos started out milking 50 or 60 cows, but they had to buy more animals and improve each cow's production in order to spread out their costs.
Milk production per cow hit 17,000 pounds in Utah in 1996, marking the 11th straight year of record production, according to statistics from the Department of Agriculture. And the state's overall milk production increased that year, despite the decline in the number of dairy farms.
But numbers like that do not seem to impress the average banker, the Ropelatos said, because the dairy business remains costly and risky.
Papageorge said a new milking parlor, with the latest equipment, could cost $500,000 to $1 million. Add in the price of cows at $1,000 to $1,250 per animal and another $500,000 for additional equipment, and the price to start a 500-head dairy comes up to about $2 million.
"Over the years in our facility, we've invested large amounts of money," he said. "You're in it, and usually you're financed to the point where you can't get out what you've got in it. So you're there to stay."
Unless, of course, you are willing to sell your land to a developer.
"The ground we have, to sell it for development, you could pretty much live off what you make from the ground," John Degiorgio said.
"Around here, you're looking at 10 years until housing or urban development take over," Dave Degiorgio said. "It started in Farmington and Layton and it keeps moving farther north . . . There's nobody that wants to do this anymore."
Gene Ropelato said he knows dairy farmers have caused some of their own problems, as they have increased productivity, improved technology and worked longer hours.
They felt they had to get better at their jobs in order to survive. But the average farmer still struggles, he said, while consumers buy relatively inexpensive milk and cheese without giving a thought to who produced it.
It's the kind of thing that could drive a farmer crazy if he let it.
It is driving away the next generation.
Bob Ropelato Jr., 21, works with his dad and uncle on the farm. He said he enjoys the work, but he is not sure the operation will still be there five years from now.
"There's a future in (dairy farming), I think, but it needs to be on a pretty large scale to make cash flow," he said. "It won't be like it is today."
Mike Ropelato, 25, is Gene's son. He likes the farm, too, but works for Ogden air-bag manufacturer Autoliv ASP Inc.
"In order to get married, you need a steady income and benefits for your family," he said, adding that his own sons miss spending time on the farm. "Out here, milk prices fluctuate. It's hard to make a living."
And it can be hard to keep up with the industry, Bob Ropelato said. The dairy farmer needs to know about business, nutrition, veterinary science, genetics, chemistry, economics, and the list goes on.
"It's a daily thing," he said. "You can't just come out and turn the key off. It's really tough to stay positive, but you can't just shut it down."
John Degiorgio said he wishes people knew how hard dairy farmers work to produce wholesome, inexpensive food and drink.
"But it's the life we chose," he said. "There's no use crying over spilled milk, so to say."
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Utah dairy farms and milk production
Number of Dairy Farms
Today 526
1997 566
1996 588
1995* 628
*1995 is the year when the number of farms started to decrease.
Note: Production per cow is at an all-time high - about 17,000 pounds per cow for 1996. this is an increase of 261 pounds from the previous year and marked the 11th straight year of record high milk per cow.
Milk Production Number of
(million pounds Dairy Cows
1996 1,547 1996 91,000
1995 1,473 1995 88,000
1994 1,431 1994 86,000
1993 1,332 1993 81,000
1992 1,345 1992 82,000
1991 1,262 1991 79,000
1990 1,267 1990 80,000
1989 1,170 1989 76,000
Source: Utah Department of Agriculture and Food