Who should I blame for the rise in the cost of milk?

Question

It's about $4 a gallon now. Why gripe about gas when you can gripe about milk!

Is it really OPEC's fault? For keeping gas prices high - for our trying out ethanol - for the price of corn going up - for the price of corn feed going up - for the price of milk going up?

Or is it some vast conspiracy that we just need to make more cows pump out that milk?

Any thoughts?

Answer 1

One word. Huns.

Answer 2

Production and Transportation costs have gone up. Farmers have to buy fuel to run the tractors to cut hay to feed cows. They also have to pay electricity bills to run the pump devices and lights. Someone also has to pay for the fuel to drive the milk truck from the farm to the bottling plant and from the plant to the supermarket. (That would be you.)

Federal laws allowed farmers to raise the price last year in order for the farms to make money. It's still federally capped, but at least now a farmer can pay some more bills. It's not like they are getting rich...go hang out on a farm for a day and then ask the farmer what he makes per hour.

Additionally, the New England Dairy Compact, another cost controlling method, also expired and I don't belive it was re-introduced.

Answer 3

There are a bunch of reasons. The main one is corn is more expensive because of the new ethanol "craze". The second one is because of higher fuel prices farmers have higher operating costs. What is the incentive of farming if you cant profit from it. It is not a conspiracy. I know this this because I have close family in the cattle buisness. And milk is $3 a gallon here in WI.

Answer 4

$4.00 milk --- BLAME Congress --- Subsidize on growing corn for ethanol --- distorts the corn food/feed grade markets.

Allowing milk from CA to more profitable to be shipped to WI than a farmer can raise it in WI is the fault of a criminal special interest tax code.

Where is the transparency of earmarks that Ms Pelosi promised. Can anyone explain the federal milk pricing law?

Why can we not buy ethanol at the world market price?

Answer 5

Blame the market.

But, yes, there are some underlying factors. Agriculture of all kinds is somewhat energy-intensive, so rising energy costs do increase the cost of food, including dairy. And, yes, diverting corn production to ethanol has increased the price of corn, which is used as feed (though, not so much for cattle, AFAIK).

Cows are already freakishly productive, though, thanks to selective breeding, hormones, etc... that's not a contributing factor, to the price, anyway.

No there are no vast conspiracies.

Answer 6

Idiots using E-85 made from corn. Drove up the cost of feed corn and everything derived from it. E-85 is a political football but is pretty much worthless as a "solution" to the fuel problem.

Answer 7

OPEC manipulates supply to keep prices artificially high. Milk producers would be arrested for doing so. We cows are not aloud to directly influence or set production limits either.

Answer 8

i think it's because of the unionization of the cows. which translates to yes, probably OPEC and the corn thing. i was going to say the competition of the "buy local" movement, but i don't think thats a big enough factor to affect the dairy industry.

Answer 9

Since milk cannot be compressed for easy shipping, it's probably the fuel cost increase that caused the milk price increase.

Answer 10

Blame the dems and that stupid raise in minimum wage. Anytime minimum wage increases it shows up at the grocery store first. And since it is still due to go up get ready for 5 dollars a gallon for milk.

Answer 11

with the new smart fuels like ethanol i think its like e85 this raises the cost of corn and which in turns raises the cost of feed for the cows.