Milk $2.89...gas $2.00 gallon last week!!!

Nope the dairy farmers arn't making any more on the milk and goat dairy's do get 20.50 per hundred lbs which equals out to about 11.6 gals of milk. Cow milk goes for less. Don't base the taste of either real cow or goat milk on what you get from the store most of that stuff has been around at least 5 days in the farms bulk tank before it is even picked up to go to the plant then it gets process and sent out for the most part it is at lest 2 weeks from the cow or goat before it ever gets to the store which means not only does it have hormones and other bad for you things in it but all so the stuff they have added to slow down the spoiling rate.
By the way goats milk does not have a bad taste unless the handling has not been up to what it should be or it is old. And I don't know about the cow dairys but with the goats there better not be any antibotics show up in your milk sample or you buy the truck load of milk.

Hi Joe nice to see you're still on the board. Dairy is going good.

Echo

Caffeine itself isn't a problem as long as it is in moderation and not the only beverages consumed. A little, (2-3 cups) a day can actually reduce you risk of kidney stones, provided you drink enough water to counteract its diuretic effect, too much caffeinated anything will actually dehydrate you and increase the risk of stones. If you can read a newspaper through a cup of tea it should be fine, if not, wash it down with a cup of water afterwards. The real culprit is soft drinks. The Bicarb pulls the calcium out of the bones into the blood, and the sodium (salt) forces the calcium from the blood to the urine. The general rule is if God made it, it is usually ok for your kidneys, and if man made it, it is supposed to be a treat.

Everything has gone up since the gas prices have gone up...we get gas for about 1.79 a gallon and milk is 3.69 a gallon. We are in the construction business. We build with metal studs. Because China is buying 1/4 of the world's steel, the price of steel has gone up at least 60% and is looking for it to go up another 40%. Not only are the prices of metal studs up, but, so is everything made of metal. We bought chicken wire the other day, couldn't believe the price we had to pay. Nails, screws just about anything made of metal. I guess it is just a sign of the times. I think it's time for people to get real. Homesteaders really are the smart ones.

Our milk prices(here in MT) are regulated so that the dairy farmer's get a guaranteed amount. We recently had a 50cent/gallon hike in that regulated price that goes directly to the dairy farmer. This is the way I unerstand it anyway. I could be wrong. Goodness knows it's happened before!!!

I wanted to reply to the question about human consumption of animal-feed oats. I checked into that many years ago, and forgive me I cannot recall the exact details, but you don't want to eat it!!!!! It is not treated/handled the same way as human food. Don't do it - it's not worth the risk.

As I read all the posts here I kept thinking, well, the rising prices is one of the reasons many of us homestead. But even that can be just as expensive - in areas where goat feed, as an example, goes for 10.00 for 50# of grain, and $8.50 for 50# alfalfa pellets, not to mention, vaccines, wormers, and don't even get me started about hay - the milk we'll be getting (first time, she's due in two weeks!!) is going to be rather pricey.
I don't think growing our own beef would even be worth it. It would probably run us more or about even with organic beef in the store.

The vegetables and fruits are to me the most money saving items, followed by eggs, and then our meat chickens. Another thought would be to try to make a little money off extra eggs, produce etc. Goat milk here sells for $6.00 a gallon for instance. Even just enough to cover the costs of feed, or depreciation on a tiller, or whatever, really would be worth the effort.

If you have no room for a big garden, or can't tear up the backyard cuz you're renting, or whatever, check into sprouting. Or, go purchase bags of potting soil, sit them in the sun, cut a slit, place a vegetable plant, maybe a couple pokes underneath to allow for drainage. You can grow a lot of plants in a large sack of potting soil, and soil of course stays in the bag.

Just some musings!

LOL, got me on that one!!

Southergurl, yes I am sure , cant remember what its called. That is why the grapes at farmers markets and your back yard grapes never get as big as store bought.

Hi mtfarmchick

Here are a couple links that if you have the time you might read as it explains what the dairy farmers are making on their milk. some of the are long but worth reading on a rainy or snowy day.


http://commdocs.house.gov/committees...hag1084_0f.htm

http://dairy.ca.gov/dairy_questions_main.html#1

This one has the market prices that are paid now and in june and july

http://cdfa.aghost.net/


I know it seems I keep bringing this up but it just helps show how the goverment is making the money not the dairy person
JMHO

Joe

__________________
When you're pickin' a workin' horse, look for one named Screwtail, Stump Sucker, Pat's Ass, Pearly Gates, Liver Pill, or Darlin' Jill. Leave the Champions and Silvers for the show ring.
A man is not born a cowboy he becomes one.

[QUOTE=Sunrise]Hi mtfarmchick

Here are a couple links that if you have the time you might read as it explains what the dairy farmers are making on their milk. some of the are long but worth reading on a rainy or snowy day.


I'll say they're LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG!Very important topic though.Rather hard to read,i think it took a couple HOURS to read the first link ,a gov'mint hearing.
BUT....it sure shows whats going on.My take on the first link is large corporations have a huge lock on the market(One company controlling 29% of the distribution market!,"did I get that right?" ) and are taking it to us consumers and farmers bigtime.Another problem is the government policies are a huge mess on the market.Subsidies really messing up the free market.I thought the price increase went to the farmers,that appears not to be the case.Dairy farmers getting 1.05 per gallon of milk???? Or 28 cents on the dollar? Huge surpluses of powdered milk(1.3 BILLION POUNDS!) we are forbidden to give away to starving people of the world because it violates WTO policies??? While we buy tons more?
WOW,what a mess! 50% of dairies have gone under since 1990???Another 1/3 could go under in the next 5 years!!!!
Lots more in just that first link,if you can read it,it really lays it out.Tough read though,really tough read
Can other folks add their synopsis' too?I didnt begin to explain it here.Or understand it all either.Just a few things that jumped out at me.
BooBoo

Wow! in the market yesterday milk was $4.12 a gal. We don't drink it anyway , so I wasn't aware that it had gone up. But the summer children will be here soon - school's out for the neices and nephews in 14 days.

Thank goodness gas is still holding at 1.79 in our area. But I doubt that last long.

Life is good -does anyone need peaches? The freezer is still full from last year and it looks like another bumper crop coming on!

Halo

Maybe the Mega-Farms are getting more for the milk, but I can tell you for a fact that the Farmers are not seeing a dime, once again the Goverment and the Mega Farm industry are getting rich and fat and blaming it on the family farm. There are more small dairy operations operating in the red everyday. When I was a young kid back in early '60 we ran 100 head and turned a profit which fed the family and paid the bills. To be in th dairy industry today and make a profit plan on at least 2000 head.

Tracy

Last I checked (couple weeks ago) milk is 3.50/gal and gas is 1.84. Glad I've got a jersey cow and dairy goat. We get more milk than we can use, and the surplus is going to the sow, chickens, dog, cats. The cow's calf is getting almost all his "feed" from his mama, and he will be our next freezer beef. Even with buying the cow and goat's hay and grain, the savings are substantial. Cheri in NY, if you just lived a little closer we could work out a barter or something for some milk!

Thanks Sunrise!
The first link was from 2003 though and the other 2 are from the CA Dairy Board. So, I'm not sure if they apply. Compare it to the numbers on the link below and let me know. I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I just don't understand all the stuff they put in these things. The way it looks, MT diary farmers are getting $22.20 for class one milk. I honestly thought that the dairy farmers in MT had a 50cents raise in their regulated price.
http://www.state.mt.us/liv/MME/MilkControl/pricing.asp

Again, I'm not meaning to be crass(sp?), so please don't take it that way.

Hi I know you are not crass I think this is a good disscusion we have going on.
Yes the first link was 2003 they have not had the 2004 meeting as of yet.
The class 1 is the grade A milk and that is what they get paid for 100 pounds of milk wich comes out to almost $1.62 cents per gallon that the farmers are getting. and also they only get that price if they have a 3.5 percent butter fat. The way that works is it goes down .25 cents per point in butter fat. but it also goes up with higher butter fat. and believe me it is hard to keep it at 3.5. They might have had a raise in their milk prices but it states on the contracts that the price can change and by signing you accept that condition.
Hope this helps

Joe

__________________
When you're pickin' a workin' horse, look for one named Screwtail, Stump Sucker, Pat's Ass, Pearly Gates, Liver Pill, or Darlin' Jill. Leave the Champions and Silvers for the show ring.
A man is not born a cowboy he becomes one.

I'm going to look upon the rise in milk prices as a blessing in disguise, and go back on this regimen (although I do not use the salt--I figure there is enough sodium in everything else), so I can afford my butter, cheese and sour cream for occasional baking. ;-)

http://www.watercure2.com/

Here in central Va - 3.89 gallon of milk and 1.85 gallon reg unleaded gas!!!!!

Okay...this week the gas is $2.08 gallon..up 8cents from last week. Even our Stewart's ice cream is all over $3.00 a half gallon!

Goats run on brush and grass....and make milk that is yummy!

Now I need to train them to pull a cart....then we'll be in business!

Thanks again Sunrise,
I was thinking about it and I really hope no one here thinks I don't think the dairy farmer's shouldn't make more money. I sure don't think that way. I raise beef cows and I know how depressing it is to only get 93cents/pound for my steers and then see an $8/pound steak in the store. I guess I was just thinking that the raise in milk prices was justified because the farmers are getting more money. You know, thinking "yeah milk is high, but at least the farmers are making more $$".
Gas in my town has gone up 14cents in the last week. It had gone up 4cents and now another 10 today. The only reason it hadn't gone up sooner is because the pumps only went to $1.999. Now, they just set the pumps at half of whatever the price is and put a sign on them that says "Pump Price X2." That's pretty sad!

Just a couple thought on the price of gas (currently 2.17/gallon here in western wa). As Hank said in a previous post the Europeans are paying almost three times what we are and it has been that way at least since I lived there in the late 80's and undoubtedly well before that. Also, I heard on the news today that when wages are adjusted, we are paying the same as people did in the 1950's. Something to ponder. Theresa.