Milk Prices

[milkinpigs]

THe price of milk paid to farmers has dropped drastically; soon to be around 10.00 with no improvement in sight.There is NO reason you, as the consumer , should be paying the prices you are for dairy products.Please complain to you store managers and ask why theprices are not being lowered> It won't help the farmers much but there is no need for the processors to be ripping off both of us. A couple of years ago when the producers price went up. there were signs on dairy cases stating price increases were because the farmers were getting rich. Thanks a lot

[ladycat]

The milk prices keep dropping and yet they still insist on giving shots to cows to make them produce more. It makes no sense to me.

[Qwispea]

Is drinking milk good for a person? Somebody told me adults don't need milk. Said it was 'liquid cholestrol'..and said that the calcium content in milk dissipates shortly after its exposed to air.

So I wonder if drinking milk is really beneficial for an adult..or not?

[milkinpigs]

Ladycat,we don't use BST, most family dairies don't. That's mainly the Mega-dairies. Qwispea, go to www.realmilk.com and decide for yourself.Grass based dairies produce milk that contains a higher level of CLA.

[3dogmom]

We drink skim milk. Switched to it 27 years ago when the peditrician put my son on it. Yummmm :baby04: We couldn't give up milk.

[3dogmom]

Meant to include that I'm on the side of the dairy farmers...and all the other farmers too!

[Reauxman]

You couldn't pay me to put a glass of that white water to my lips. My goats produce far better stuff than the store sells and at a much better price. It isn't the farmers that cause the milk to taste and cost how it does, it's the gov's regulations and middleman gouging.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by milkinpigs

Ladycat,we don't use BST, most family dairies don't. That's mainly the Mega-dairies.

There are a lot of family dairies in a region about 50 miles from me. They do use BST and periodically they protest the low prices of milk by dumping everything they produce for a few days or couple weeks. I have no clue what they think they are accomplishing, though.

[dezeeuwgoats]

Originally Posted by ladycat

they protest the low prices of milk by dumping everything they produce for a few days or couple weeks. :

They should be feeding it to some pigs! Maybe a 'value-added' product would make more $$ for them.

I hate the whole 'dumping milk' thing - understand why it's done, but just hate the waste. If it was my milk - I'd go nuts dumping it.

Niki

[MELOC]

i hope i am not playing the devil's advocate here...the answer from the stores would probably be that the cost of the distribution system has increased with the cost of fuel so the comsumer will get no breaks.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by dezeeuwgoats

I hate the whole 'dumping milk' thing - understand why it's done,

Please enlighten me. Why is it done? What does it accomplish?

dezeeuwgoats, I agree, they should feed it to pigs, or donate it to a food bank at the very least.

[arabian knight]

Dairy products have come down by quite a bit in the last few Weeks. Butter is now at $1.79/pound Milk has gone down a lot I am paying now $1.99 for a gal of skim. which was over 3 not too long ago ..butter was also over 3 a pound. So Dairy has dropped by substantial amounts. Ice Cream I just bought a 5 Qt. pale just yesterday at $4.79 which had been way over 5 bucks a month ago.
At least a few years ago they Put the Head quarters for Shipping milk to New York State I can't for the life of me figure why the STARTING Point was Eau Claire WI.~!~ SO ANYBODY that had to ship there milk was Paid the Distance which they were from Eau Claire... Which meant here in the Eau Claire farmers really were shafted big time. As the big Dairies in CA,AZ. would get WAY more money for there milk because they were 2,000+ miles from Eau Claire WI.. NOW that Starting Location Has been moved to New York State, So the WI farmers can get a more even shake on the price.. And yes the price is low going at around 11 now that is why many Small cow barns in the State have gone to Organic if they can because organic they can get up to 6 Bucks a hundred more for there milk.. And many of them now are adding Jerseys to there Holstein herd to raise the butter fat content, for the extra money a hundred wt.
And I am just a big calf myself and drink about 1 gal every 2 to 3 days I love milk. ~!!!!!!

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by arabian knight

Dairy products have come down by quite a bit in the last few Weeks. Butter is now at $1.79/pound Milk has gone down a lot I am paying now $1.99 for a gal of skim. which was over 3 not too long ago ..butter was also over 3 a pound. So Dairy has dropped by substantial amounts.

I wish that was true of organic. I went from paying $4.99/gal of milk to $6.49 Butter is about $4.50/lb.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by arabian knight

\STARTING Point was Eau Claire WI.~!~ SO ANYBODY that had to ship there milk was Paid the Distance which they were from Eau Claire... Which meant here in the Eau Claire farmers really were shafted big time. As the big Dairies in CA,AZ. would get WAY more money for there milk because they were 2,000+ miles from Eau Claire WI.. NOW that Starting Location Has been moved to New York State, So the WI farmers can get a more even shake on the price!

Those here in the midwest are still getting shafted. I'm not in dairy, but my understanding is the NE states got their own compact. The Western states still have their sweet deal of the EC distance pricing.

That leaves the typical dairy areas high & dry. Really, really shafted.

Folks like ladycat are totally out of the loop, & don't understand milk-marketing at all. Therefore, they are trying to apply logic & sense to it....

Govt fairly tightly controls milk prices. As will all things the govt controls, it is not done fairly, or to the benifit of either current dairy farmers nor milk consumers.

I don't understand all of it either, but it is far, far more complicated than 'just produce less' or 'just feed excess to pigs'. The govt is involved, and so things have to be done differently - including the silly milk dumping, which is rare around here, but has it's place in affecting the local price of milk from the govt.

(Not picking on you ladycat - it's just like any govt thing - you have to understand the program, and then throw out all logic, and jump through the hoops the govt sets up to make any part of it work for you. If you try to make it work out logically & privately, you get outrside the loop & fall out of grace, and then you are sunk - too big to be a homesteader type; and too small & outside of govt regulations to make it on your own....... What you are saying sounds as silly to me as dumping milk sounds to you - "it doesn't work that way." )

--->Paul

[Tad]

Originally Posted by ladycat

I wish that was true of organic. I went from paying $4.99/gal of milk to $6.49 Butter is about $4.50/lb.

If you are going to pay that much for dairy products don't buy horizon. I just read an article in a dairy publication that Dean foods is subject to a 10 mil. dollor investigation seems like they were running short and just useing regular milk to make the difference. I really can't see a differece myself but if you are going to pay that much you should get what they are advertizing. We went to a meeting for our co-op on going organic, the woman said we should do it for the cows well-being she said there cull ratew dropped from 37%to 25%. I raised my hand and said our cull rate is 11% should I change what we are doing? I could never see haveing to sell a cow because she required treatment. If my kid had an ear infection I would give him drugs to help.

As for the milk prices it is our own fault, people didn't notice how nice the prices were when monsanto ran out of BST. More money less stress on the cows? I had to laugh my father is the quietest person in the world, always pays "asking price" for things because he is to shy to ask the dealer to come down. We had a monsanto sales woman come to the farm pushing BST and sexed semen. He told here they were a bigger threat to the dairy industry than the PETA nutcases. I about died laughing when he said it!

[Terry W]

I am still paying almost 4 dollars a pound for GENERIC butter-- and milk-- 2%, is well over 3 dollars a gallon. I have neighbors that think "Vit D Homo Whole" is the way milk comes out of a cow. I have tried to explain-- to no avail---

I agree about whatever the gov'mint getting IT'S hands into/onto not make sense. I was skimming Ohio's dairy laws-- and they really stink! Then, by accident, I have a copy of the Animal Abuse laws-- and would you believe-- and here is the quote --

[[[[[No Person Shall--
(4)Keep animals other than cattle, poultry or fowl, swine, or goats in an enclosure withouthout wholesome exercise and change of air]]]]]]]

Notice the exception animals-- FOOD animals!!! Animals intended for people to eventually eat!!! The animals are provided, by law, better care when at the slaughterhouse than when being raised!!!

[tyusclan]

I'm just glad we have friends who have a jersey dairy a few miles down the road. We buy unpasteurized milk from them for $2.00 a gallon. Of course, they're selling it as "not for human consumption", but what I do with it when I get it home is my business.

[Brighid1971]

Originally Posted by arabian knight

Dairy products have come down by quite a bit in the last few Weeks. Butter is now at $1.79/pound Milk has gone down a lot I am paying now $1.99 for a gal of skim. which was over 3 not too long ago ..butter was also over 3 a pound. So Dairy has dropped by substantial amounts. Ice Cream I just bought a 5 Qt. pale just yesterday at $4.79 which had been way over 5 bucks a month ago.

Down in these parts, a gallon of whole milk costs a bit over $3.00 per gal. On the other hand, powdered milk reconstituted to a gallon costs $1.25. Butter averages about $2.00 a pound. Chesse usually runs close to $3-4.00 a pound.

Now, get me started on housing costs down here in South New Jersey...but that would be OT and hijacking :P

[Brighid1971]

Originally Posted by tyusclan

I'm just glad we have friends who have a jersey dairy a few miles down the road. We buy unpasteurized milk from them for $2.00 a gallon. Of course, they're selling it as "not for human consumption", but what I do with it when I get it home is my business.

I am seriously jealous...

[Obser]

Milk and milk product prices have little to do with cost of production or with small farmer profits and much to do with policies and regulations and with big farm (corporate farm) profits and middle man profits.

Agricultural policy, with anything involving politicians and bureaucrats, serves the special interests at the expense of everyone else (no matter how presented). Those organizations that can make significant political contributions to politicians (buy them) and those who can influence vote (coerce them) have the “pull” to favor themselves.

“Helping the small farmer or family farm” for the past century has had exactly the opposite effect. The little farms are all but gone and corporate agriculture has taken over the vast bulk of all agricultural production.

“Economy of scale” (bigger is more efficient) contains an element of truth in agriculture as well as many other endeavors. However, politically expedient laws and regulations can, and often do, greatly enhance the advantage of “bigness”.

State Milk Marketing Boards were theoretically established to “help farmers get fair prices from processors”. They are associations of dairy farmers, usually subsidized by government, that supposedly bargain with bulk purchasers of milk and achieve fair prices for farmers.

In reality, marketing boards tend to be heavily influenced by large producers and by political considerations. That they aren’t effective in achieving their stated objective is obvious from the difference between milk prices paid to farmers vs. prices of milk paid by consumers.

“The profit is in the middle” holds true whenever politics and bureaucracy “help” the market. Influence belongs to those who can afford it.

For peek inside milk marketing boards one can look at http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensi...tingBoard.html Even though the article is written four years ago from a favorable point of view, one can gain some understanding of the big picture. Note the mention that “Minnesota has lost a quarter of its dairy farms in the past five years.”