Many farmers without generators, who normally feed and water their livestock mechanically, haven't been able to do so for days. And farmers with generators, like the Smiths, are having to scramble for parts. A lot of the farmers who have generators have helped other farmers who don't. Piper said he has been working 12 to 16 hours a day to help farmers. I was kind of surprised when I called the National Guard to get help to find out that they weren't able to lend portable generators to help family-run farms.
Milk is a perishable product in food stores.
You would think it would be high on the priority list. Piper said another problem farmers face is a lack of feed. Blue Seal Feeds Inc. in Augusta has been without power since Thursday. It has been hauling feed into the state from a sister plant in Concord, N.H., but with all the trees and power lines down, plant manager Bob Felt said they've had a difficult time delivering grain to farmers. They're coming to our dealers with pickup trucks and buying bagged feed and getting fertilizer bags and filling them with corn meal just so they have something to feed their cows.