BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 8, 2020
For dairy farmers David and Debra Quimby of Shady Lane Farm in Troy, 2020 has brought one hardship after another. But the worst disaster yet happened during this weekend’s storm, when high winds and wet, heavy snow caused the roof of their cow barn to collapse, trapping their 80-head dairy herd inside the mangled metal and wood structure. All but six of the cattle survived the collapse. They moved most of the herd about 6 miles away, to another dairy farming operation. The industry has been on the brink of crisis for years — about 5,000 dairy farms have closed in the United States since 2015.