Store bought milk question

[Beeman]

I stopped at the big grocery store in town and picked up milk. The store has 3 different labels of their own store brand milk and 1 or 2 dairy labels too. Just what in the world could be the difference between any of these? None are organic or any other specialty type of milk and I'm only looking at whole milk,red cap type. The 3 store labels all come from the same processor according to the labels. Now the prices range from $2.89 per gal to $4.99 per gal. All full size gallons in plastic containers, cheapest is in the clear container highest is in the yellow container.

[billooo2]

You might call the processor, and see what they have to say....

[hotzcatz]

It's all marketing. Some folks think a different brand is better than another and some folks think paying more for something means you are getting a better whatever it is.

If you could package something three different ways and get more money for it, would you?

[coalroadcabin]

might all come from the same processor but maybe not from the same source?

I've heard rumors that some of the milk in the mega-marts comes from outside this country (and is cheaper)

Wonder what they feed those cows?

[Nette]

The $2.89 milk must have come from our farm. We're not getting squat for our milk nowadays. Something about, there's too much milk out there right now, people aren't dining out anymore (and eating lots of cheesy pizza) because of the economy, yada, yada, yada. Milk pricing is a convoluted mess.

[kjmatson]

Doesn't help that these processing plants "magically found" an over abundance of cheese.

[Michael W. Smith]

I would be tempted (just because I'm mean enough) to buy a gallon of each as you use the previous gallon up, then cut the label off and attach the store register receipts to the proper labels and send a letter to the processor inquiring how the milk coming from the SAME processor could have 3 different prices with a difference of $2.10 between the cheapest and the most expensive.

I'm sure part of the answer they would say is the plastic jug. Supposedly the yellow jug is to keep the milk "fresher" as it doesn't let light into the milk. Of course, the only light it would be receiving is in the grocer's fridge, since most people have dark refrigerators!!

Of course, it would be interesting to see how the company acknowledges that the cheap plastic jug is $2.10 less than the yellow jug!

Once I got their "answer", I would also be tempted to go to the local paper to see if they would be interested in doing their own milk investigation!

[watcher]

Originally Posted by Nette

The $2.89 milk must have come from our farm. We're not getting squat for our milk nowadays. Something about, there's too much milk out there right not, people aren't dining out anymore (and eating lots of cheesy pizza) because of the economy, yada, yada, yada. Milk pricing is a convoluted mess.

It can't be that bad. After the government has been "helping" the milk industry for years and years and years and will you get the picture therefore things must be wonderful.

Someone MUST come up with a sarcasm 'smiley'.

[Thales]

$2.89 for milk? The cheapest I've gotten it for was at Sam's Club for $3.29.

As far as differences go, I know that the stuff in the yellow jug is a different brand, the one time I made the mistake of paying extra I discovered that the milk had a sour after-taste.

-Thales

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by billooo2

You might call the processor, and see what they have to say....

Good response, not as easy as it sounds.

http://www.topco.com/
This is the company listed on the label, the are a middle man. Obviously one of the places the money goes before the dairy farmer. I did research them and get further info. They would not disclose the processor's name but it is processed in London,KY or at least the gallon I bought was. I spoke to their technical services rep who was helpful and had answers. He said they know there is no foreign milk being used, all from within the US. He also said it's packaging and whole milk is whole milk as far as what they distribute.

As far as the yellow container milk in our area it's the old family dairy farm company that distributes it. What few know is Dean Foods bought out the old family dairy farm and there isn't much if any difference in that milk either.

[milkinpigs]

In the DFW area in Texas,Great Value milk that WM sells comes from two name brand procesors,the half gallons are bottled at Bordens, the gallon at Schepp's, sell for about half the price.
I try to tell anybody that shops at WM to buy the great value products; the same quality and because of the amount that moves, it is usually much fresher.

In Texas, dairy farmers are getting about 64 cents out of the price of a g
allon of milk...that's gross.....not net. Consumers are being ripped off....


Any products that come from livestock -Dairy, beef,poultry and pork are going to rise in price as producers go broke trying to compete with government subsized ethanol producers.On CNBC today,Jim Rogers announced that his company was buying up farmland in Canada and Brazil....his says the big money in the next 20 to 30 years will be in agriculture.

[TomK]

retail stores are free to set prices as high as they determine to be appropriate. In short, there is no maximum price that can be charged. Any price charged for milk over and above the farm minimum price plus $1.00 per gallon is likely to be tied to stores' own pricing policies.

Here milk is selling for $1.99 a gallon @ Krogers while down the street at the party store the same brand sells for $3.49 a gallon...

[milkinpigs]

[QUOTE=Nette;3662115]The $2.89 milk must have come from our farm. We're not getting squat for our milk nowadays. Something about, there's too much milk out there right now, people aren't dining out anymore (and eating lots of cheesy pizza) because of the economy, yada, yada, yada. Milk pricing is a convoluted mess.[/QUOTE

Unfortunately many consumers complain about the farmers getting rich; the USDA sets the price we get while store charge whatever they can get away with...which leads to buying less dairy products.

Someone recently calculated that the price a 5 lb. block of cheese sells for would equate to the milk it takes to produce the cheese at $44.00 per cwt.; we will get about $10.00 this month.

[Old Vet]

One of the reasons that anything is price higher than store brands of the same thing is advertising. Advertising is not cheep and adds a lot to the price.

[Callieslamb]

Here the yellow jugs are advertised as letting less light through - so they preserve the freshness or vitamins or something better than the white jugs. WE don't have to worry about that - we drink ours too fast to worry about escaping vitamins.

[Old Vet]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

Here the yellow jugs are advertised as letting less light through - so they preserve the freshness or vitamins or something better than the white jugs. WE don't have to worry about that - we drink ours too fast to worry about escaping vitamins.

That is what I mean. They were advertised.

[milkinpigs]

A percentage of our milk check goes for advertising.....we paid for the "Got Milk" campaign.... also help pay for promotions such as the store ads for ice cream month, etc.

[Ken Scharabok]

Is it the same situation for low-fat, 2% or skim milk?

[foxtrapper]

Can't say what the inherent differences are between the seemingly same store brands, but I can certainly say that not all milk is the same. If I buy milk from Walmart, it's got a musky taste and turns within 2 days. If I buy milk from Giant, it's bright tasting and stays fresh for well over a week.

[billooo2]

Originally Posted by foxtrapper

Can't say what the inherent differences are between the seemingly same store brands, but I can certainly say that not all milk is the same. If I buy milk from Walmart, it's got a musky taste and turns within 2 days. If I buy milk from Giant, it's bright tasting and stays fresh for well over a week.

Interesting!!!!......I wonder where the Walmart milk was processed. (I saw a recent study that said that the average purchase in the grocery store has been transported 1500 miles.) In my mind, I start to add up....backwards...it probably came from a distribution warehouse somewhere.....and sat there for how long?....before that it was a a processing plant for how long???.....and before that it was milked from a cow.......and the processor probably does not pick up milk every day...

Last week I was at a seminar. At one of the workshops, the presenters were raw milk producers. The question of "shelf life" of raw milk was raised. One of them had an anecdotal story. He has one customer who does not pick up milk every week. They buy several gallons at a time. That customer says that they can keep the milk for up to 3 weeks before they notice a change in the taste. Probably a combination of keeping a low bacteria count.....and getting it fresh from the cow.......