Article January 7, 2002 Issue

When the dairy market bottomed out, our prayers kicked in

By Debby Miller

In the fall of 2000 my husband and I watched the price of our dairy farm products drop 25 percent, a major blow to our finances. The dairy industry had always been volatile, but the decline to depression-level milk prices was a first in decades.

The drop in prices rocked our fellow producers—many of whom quickly sold out. We watched services and suppliers gradually disappear. The outlook was bleak. My husband had started this dairy business as a teenager. He'd enjoyed building the business over many years. So the decisions we had to make weren't easy.

We prayed for direction. We knew we needed to listen for God's guidance and be willing to go wherever He led. As difficult as it seemed, we knew it was important for us to be willing to follow Him, and not simply do what we wanted.