Milk Men

MILK MEN explores the dairy industry in the Pacific Northwest, following the paths of farmers through changing seasons in this richly scenic and diverse agricultural terrain. As the global economics of dairy farming has winnowed out most small and medium-sized dairies, the surviving farmers confront intense pressures to intensify production, even as they find that getting bigger presents new problems. The film provides a unique window into family relationships — and human relationships with cows — and intergenerational dynamics in the transmission of the family farm. As farms get bigger, families also confront discomfort with industrializing an area of agriculture long associated with rural America. Dairy farming emerges as a fascinating tale of modernity, with its intense technological and economic pressures and its potential for rethinking indicators of progress.