Is the dairy industry screwing the consumer?

Question

Dairy is subsidized and it is huge, yet a gallon of milk cost only 1 dollar less than a gallon of organic milk which isnt subsidized and has a smaller production

I am not talking about modest increases in prices. I am talking about Organic dairy only costing a little bit more yet has smaller production and no subsidize, yet huge dairy companies with subsides and numerous huge dairy farms are so close to organic prices.

I don't blame the farmers, considering most dairy comes from corporate farms that have no actual farmers.

Answer 1

Don't look toward the farmers to put blame for farm subsides. Look to the Governments of the world, that is what has gotten the prices of agriculture products all over the world all messed up. It is not something that can be straightened out quickly. If all subsidies were withdrawn and prices went back on supply and demand as they should be, much of the agriculture of the world would collapse before it could adjust. Added to this problem is the unfair competition between nations is one withdraws subsidizes and another does not. Organic milk is kind of caught in the middle of this mess. But higher prices for regular milk help sell more organic milk as the prices get closer together. I don't mind so much paying three dollars for a gallon of organic milk when regular milk is two dollars. If regular milk was one dollar, it would be a lot harder to pay three for organic.

Answer 2

lemme answer this from a first hand standpoint. my grand parents were into dairy farming and so were many people in our area. the dairy farmers aren't the one's screwing you. the dairy farmer in the us, as with any american farmer, is effected by the entire economy. when gas prices rise, the farmer has to pay more for grain that was shipped on trucks using more expensive gas. when the electric bill rises, so too must the milk to pay for the higher bill racked up by the milking machines. i could go on forever. there is another point for me to make. most milk doesn't come from privately owned farms owned by crowley or garelick farms. the milk is sold in barrels by the private farmer. at that point, the milk is much less than you pay on the shelves. it is then taken to a plent where the milk is processed. ( 1%, pasteurization, etc.) it isn't the whole dairy industry that screws you. it's those so called dairy sales companies like crowley and garelick farms that do it. if you know any thing about wall-mart's "always low prices" you'd understand this: the dairy distribution companies basically controll the dairy farmer.since there are so few companies that can process and sell "farm stabilizing quantities" of milk, they can almost tell the farmer what they'll pay. if the farmer would refuse, his farm runs the risk of bankruptcy. a milk companie's pretty logo with the cows on it doesn't make ti a dairy farm.

Answer 3

Cows eat corn and corn prices just shot way up when people got the bright idea of using ethenol in their cars instead of gasoline. The only problem with that is that you get much worse milage with ethenol. Anyway, not only has the price of feed gone up, but the cost to transport the milk as well. Then, the cost of oil just went to up to $80 a barrel and guess what - the containers they put milk in are made from oil. The dairy farmers don't get very much of that money you pay for milk and soon, they won't be able to make any profit at all. If you can't make a profit, you go out of business. With fewer farmers producing milk, the demand will totally outweigh the supply and the price will go even higher. I think I'll just buy a cow.

Answer 4

Land prices in SoCal have gone up so much that dairies are leaving the state in favor of cheap land in Texas and New Mexico. You try moving 3000 cows that far and see how it adds up! Also, we have been under drought conditions on the west coast, which affects the price of feed; alfalfa hay has doubled in price over the past 3 years, up to $15.00 a bale (125 lbs). A milk cow will eat 1/4 bale per day, and that's aside from the grain fed to her, too.
Don't forget crude oil hit the $80/barrel the day before yesterday, and several refineries on the Texas and Louisiana coast were wiped out by the hurricane earlier this past week; that will REALLY drive up the price of not only milk, but cheeses, butter, sour cream, baked goods, etc.-- anything that is, or uses, a dairy product.
Do the math.
I'm getting my own cow!

Answer 5

No. The dairy industry is not screwing the consumer. You complain about a modest increase in the price of milk and say nothing about the 500% increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board. Bottled water at the store costs more than milk. Zero calorie sodas are more expensive than milk and provide no nutrition.

Answer 6

the governemnt is screwing farmers along with organic farming, people are switching to organic, when in fact the organic farmers are the ones putting pathogens such as e coli and strep in to the bulk tanks... more power to the farmers who treat illness in there cows. organic farming is just a way to in a sense get out of calling a vet to take care of there animals.

Answer 7

well so you will know the dairy subsidy keep the price down by setting a top end price for the milk.

Answer 8

at what level is the subsidy alloted, to the farmer to the cooperative milk transporters or to the milk pasturising plant, then how much is the subsidy is it a fixed amount or per gallon amount.


got milk?

drink it up before it goes bad.

Answer 9

They know that dairy products are in demand, what ever price is attached to this product the consumers will have to buy no matter what!

Answer 10

The milk is going up in cost because it's costing the farmers more to feed their cattle. Big or small they still have to feed them.