Farmers in Wisconsin are celebrating -- and paying off some debts -- as milk prices rise to heights rarely seen in the past five years.

"That's the nature of farming and the commodity markets," said Mike Wildeck, dairy agent for the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Marathon County. "It's supply and demand, and it's a perishable product. It's very cyclical.

"You have times when you can't make ends meet and you're cutting corners, and other times you get caught up on bills and maybe replace some machinery."

The average price for Wisconsin milk in April was $17.20 per hundredweight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wisconsin field office. That's up $4.70 from a year ago.

Darrell Javorek, who owns the Johnson Creek Dairy, said the price increase has been a boon for farmers dealing with higher feed, fuel and fertilizer costs.

Last year, Wisconsin farmers earned an average of $13.30 per hundredweight for their milk, $2.30 less than the 2005 average.

"We basically didn't turn a profit in the last year, and now they're at profitable levels," Javorek said.

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune