If you're like many Americans (or interested in American politics), you're dreading the approach of the fiscal cliff. However, dairy farmers have their own cliff to worry about. The federal farm bill is yet another item stuck in congress, as it's due to reset shortly. Crop farmers are still protected by insurance and other programs through the planting season, but dairy farmers have been left without a safety net as prices drop.

In a cramped barn in northern New York state, Bob Andrews is lugging hay to his heifers. He says the dairy business is upside down. "Do you realize that feed is more valuable right now than it is putting it through a cow?" Andrews asks.

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Photo by David Sommerstein/NCPR