Quietly, Farmington farmer Konrad Bailey announced last weeek the cessation of his family farm’s door-to-door milk delivery service. Time and cost caught up with Bailey, who said 20-hour days and rising expenses made continuing daily delivery a physical, and fiscal, impossibility.

“The agriculture system is flawed,” Bailey told the Sun Journal about his decision. “Because the farmer has no control over prices. As fuel prices recently went through the roof, milk prices went up a little, but it forced farmers right against the edge.”

Bailey’s delivery service was likely the last of its kind in Maine, according to the Maine Dairy Industry Association. Its stoppage more than indicates times are changing, though, as Bailey’s laments are common refrains from dairy farmers, and amplified by consumers and businesses paying higher prices for staple products.

It wasn’t the cost of his milk that swayed Bailey’s mind. His gallons sold for $4 each delivered, less than what’s available on most supermarket shelves. Rather, the ancillary costs of production and distribution were the major concerns, which is why retail dairy prices are climbing, while farmers feel squeezed.

Congress has a chance to alleviate pressures on dairy through the new Farm Bill, which goes before the Senate in September. The House approved it July 27. Maine’s dairy industry likes some elements and doesn’t like others within the bill, says Julie-Marie Bickford, the dairy association’s executive director.

Maine produces as much milk as it consumes, she says, so the potential influence of federal actions is minimal. The Maine market is largely supplied by Maine-based “fluid processors,” leaving little opportunity for the great factory farms of the Midwest or California in our state.

This doesn’t mean our smaller farms cannot use federal support. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe must, in Senate deliberations over the Farm Bill, ensure Maine’s – and America’s – family farms are afforded supports equal to, or greater than, larger entities.

Farm subsidies have been criticized recently for poor oversight, including $1.1 billion paid to recipients later found to have been deceased, millions more flowing to farmers exploiting the system, nonfarmers, and farmers who are already millionaires. An income cap for subsidy is subject of debate, but the theory behind it isn’t.

These subsidies are best used by smaller farmers.

Maine’s dairy farms are dwindling – down below 400, according to 2006 figures. State lawmakers have repeatedly stepped up support, with subsidies and programs to help dairy farms diversify their operations. With the Farm Bill, Maine’s senators have an opportunity to lend their hands to family farms as well.

Bailey’s farm is surviving; only milk delivery was ceased. If the causes for his decision don’t change, however, and family farms remain hard pressed, more than the milkman could stop delivering in the future.