LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- With the economy down, times are tough for most everyone, but one group you may not think about are dairy farmers.

“We're being paid $10 roughly for our milk and our cost of production is in the $16 or $17 range so we're being paid almost 50 percent less than what we need to cover our cost,” said Joe Gonzalez of Gonzalez Dairy Inc. in Mesquite, N.M.

This means every day dairy farmers like Gonzalez are taking a loss.

Gonzalez said, “$12,000 a day loss and over the month it's $360,000 per month loss.”

Gonzalez said dairies have had to take losses before, but nothing like this era.

“These have been in cycles, but this is the lowest most severe cycle we've seen in the last 40 years,” he said.

And this problem isn't only affecting dairy farmers here in New Mexico, but rather on a much larger national scale.

“You have this problem in California, Maine, Vermont. I mean it's everywhere, it’s hit everybody,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzales said there are a couple reasons for this problem. First, the government sets the milk price for dairies.

"There is a survey they (the government) do with our processors, which are the people that buy our milk, they ask them what they can afford to pay to make a profit, but they never come to the dairy men themselves and ask us what we need to make a profit,” said Gonzalez.

Another problem is less demand not only from U.S. consumers but foreign consumers so that means only one thing.

“Unfortunately a lot of people have to go out of the business to shorten up the milk supply, to drive up the demand so we can get our milk back to a point we can get a profit on it,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said since November 2008 to the beginning of this month, 17 dairies in New Mexico have closed their doors. For Gonzalez, whose dairy has been taking a loss everyday for the last nine months, he is holding on as long as he can.

“You refinance, you renew. What we've had to do is I've lost a lot of equity that has taken me 30 years to build up,” he said.