Milk prices could double without new farm bill
December 28, 2012 at 11:11 am in Grand Forks Herald
A “dairy cliff” looms that has farmers across the Midwest anxious. Because Congress failed to pass a new farm bill, price levels for milk are set to expire at the end of the year. If that happens, the price of milk will nearly double. Continue Reading
Maybe dairy farmers should get off the government teat and try the open market!
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I hate to say it but while on the government teat the number of small dairy farms has declined dramatically in the midwest over the last 30 years. If left to the open market there will soon be none left but the large animal factories. I’m not in favor of huge subsidies to factory operations but if we want to promote smaller diversified farms limits to those massive payouts need to be put in place.
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Sounds like our Government as a whole is failing us all in virtually every way possible.
But to be perfectly honest, i could care less if milk hit $10 a gallon, i’m a bit more concerned about the country being bankrupt and nothing is being done to stop the runaway spending and now i’m looking at paying taxes that will severely impact my ability to retire before i drop dead on the job.
When milk piles up because no one is paying the high prices it will either spoil or they will lower the price.
The free market is self correcting when the Government keeps their filthy hands out of the process.
No more free rides through the Farm Bills in this country.
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No more free rides period. No more corporations getting a free ride with loopholes, nothing zilch, nada. Everyone should pay their fair share.
I also believe the 503c status needs to be done away with.. If you ‘collect’ money from me, you should pay taxes on it.
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“Under current law, the federal government helps set a floor on the price of milk by buying milk when it falls below $16.94 per hundredweight, a typical unit of measurement in the industry.
If there is no farm bill by Jan. 1, provisions of the 1949 will take effect, setting a new price support level of more than $38 per hundredweight.”
Heres a novel idea, How about the Federal Govt just get out of the propping up Industry business and worry about the nation.
Abolish the law as written in 1949 and let the farmers know that they are now at the mercy of Supply and Demand like every other business.
No more guarantees for a safety net.
I would rather see the price of a gallon of milk fluctuate from time to time than have my tax dollars going to guarantee them a profit.
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Capt, you really don’t have a clue as to how a dairy operates. It isn’t like oil. If the price of crude falls, it’s a simple matter to turn down the spigot. It costs little to nothing to either turn it down or turn it back on. Cows don’t work like that. The price of milk will not simply “fluctuate” from time to time. We’re talking years and years of not enough milk if dairy farmers quit.
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All of you who are thinking that you would gladly pay $10/GAL for milk.
At@ $2.50/gal that would be a 4 fold increase in your cost for milk over today’s price. If the farm bill doesn’t pass ALL farm produce will increase by the same percentage.
All agriculture is tied together . Dairy,meat. grain, and all the products derived from anything from the meat or grain industry.
Said another way YOUR entire food bill every time you went to the grocery store every one of your EDIBLE items would increase 4 fold.
Many years ago before you or I were born, the government decided that FOOD WOULD BE AFFORDABLE and it would be subsidized to INSURE THAT WOULD OCCUR.
Look at the price of fuel to drive your vehicle. Would you like companies who manipulate the price of fuel be able to MANIPULATE THE PRICE OF THE FOOD YOU EAT IN A SIMILAR MANNER???????
If you think for one minute that MEGA_CORPORATIONS like OIL COMPANIES, AUTO INDUSTRY, MINING COMPANIES, ETC. CARE FOR ONE SECOND ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO BUY THEIR PRODUCTS YOU AR COMPLETELY DELUSIONAL.
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My above post was supposed to quote milk at $10 per gallon(a 4 fold increase) NOT $2.50/gal. The rest of the post stands as written.
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Bill,
Before reading your post, I was on board with the others here who posted statements such as, “get off the government teat”, “no more free rides”, “supply and demand” and “free market”. Kudos Bill for providing a well thought out defense for the Dairy industry. Although I am on the fence here, I cannot pretend to be an expert on this issue after reading one article from the Herald.
“Reverting to the old pricing formula would give farmers the OPTION to sell dairy products to the government at significantly higher price than current prices.” Dave Buck, vice president of the board of directors of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association.
This is where I am confused Bill. Considering farmers have an OPTION, the fate of the dairy industry would be in their hands…correct Bill?
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For all these anti farm bill people on here- lets see the producers of ag products hold back all their products and sell them at only the very highest of prices. Lets see what happens first- you A… Break down and pay the ridiculous price, cause YOU ARE HUNGRY, B… You hold out because you are either stubborn or cant afford it, thus starving to death. Or C, buy your own cow and chickens. I hope you have a big back yard.
You can say you are all about the free market, but all of you will be the first ones here complaining whn the prices increase.
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I don’t think people are against giving out a helping hand when people need it.. What I think they are against (at least I am) is sustained assistance, and the people on it not doing anything to better themselves and get off assistance. I can site several cases where I know of people not doing anything, they just live a life and feed off the government buffet.
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What you speak is true. The republican politicians are sociopaths bent on destroying America and handing it over to their billionaire masters.
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You are correct in one unwritten assessment, that people need to eat.. How they eat is up to them. Yes it is true that a lot of people have gotten lazy and no longer plant food gardens.
What you fail to realize, while you may hang onto your goods, the guy down the road may not. That is what the capitalistic system is about. People enter the marketplace at a price they wish to sell at, and it goes without saying that if you are priced to high others will enter the marketplace at a lower price (for most goods).
Also to note that if farmers would withhold their goods from the marketplace, who is to say that people wouldn’t without services from them? You may grow the food, but you can’t do it without fuel, fertilizers and seed.
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Devilschild is correct. The senate version of the farm bill was passed, the house version was passed by the committee but the Republican house leadership has not allowed a vote by the full House on their version. Those are the facts.
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How I c it, replace the word faarmer with corporations. the dairy industry is not what it was 15 to 20 years ago. Instead of small family operations dotting the countryside we now have large milking parlors ran by corporations. All the small farms have gone belly up. A small operation consists of 500 head now! Back when these farm subsidies were offered to the milk industry family farms dominated the industry. If any of you people think the milk industry has any interest in a fair market these days you are sadly mistaken.
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The dairy industry would survive and thrive on its own very well because it offers products that people want. The price supports are written for big producers and processors who use the power of their purse to lobby against honest competition. US farm policy was designed to centralize the control of agricultural production in a federal bureaucracy and has nothing to do with making food affordable. All it has done is promote the rise of corporate farming, which concentrates the means of production into the hands of a few easy to control organizations, rather than decentralize production with proper market feedback mechanisms.
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If it were true that agriculture price supports are necessary to make food affordable, why is it we can routinely find and afford many foods such as fruits, meats, tree nuts, etc. that receive only minimal if any government subsidization? Price floors encourage overproduction, fence row to fence row planting, and overuse of agricultural chemicals to maximize the yield, and the profits of the producers. If you want to see the destruction that the US Farm program fosters, take a drive through the Red River Valley. You see black dirt from one section line to the next, with all the wetlands drained, and all the trees bulldozed. The dirt blows away in the winter and requires massive amounts of chemicals applied to produce anything useful. This is not a sustainable way to farm. We are turning this land’s bounty into a desert. Farm subsidies only transfer wealth from taxpayers and consumers to wealthy land owners and operators. Milk prices don’t have to rely on what crooked Republican and Democrat finagle with Big Dairy in Washington.
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This is the best reply on here yet.
Too many subsidies have allowed the valley to be plowed up.
Some land was not meant to be farmed. When land that should be pasture, hayland, slough, etc. is plowed up, the water is not held and it contributes to the massive flooding the Valley experiences.
We are spending/going to spend massive amounts of money for flood control in the southern Valley, when some of the land could have held back water.
Ditching costs money, especially for those downstream, in the terms of flood control, erosion, etc..
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If the price of milk doubled the world would not come to an end. I worry about the disproportionate effect it would have on the poor but not much else.
Face it: this story is page 2. If the price of beer or Mt Dew were to double there would be riots in the street
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The price of beer and soda pop is much higher than milk and nobody cares but if the price of milk goes up then bye golly there’ll be hell to pay.
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You people who voted for the Obamanation now have to pay for it. How’s that “hope & change” working out for you? And I’m not just talking about the price of milk. Taxes are going up for EVERYONE. Well, everyone that actually works for a living.
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HPD…neither party wants to be on the record for raising taxes. It has been said more than once that our politicians will wait until taxes go up so they can be on the record for lowering them.
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Wait until those that supported Obama start crying about Obamacare.
I know some Canadians, that have told me their experiences with Canada’s Socialistic HealthCare.
Look out, Obamacare is going to be a rough ride.
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How is obamanation paying for their choice in president? The stalemate is happening in the republican controlled house, which is making proposals against what the nation voted for in 2012. Mr romney made it very clear that this election was about spending and taxation. The republicans lost and are now acting like schoolchildren throwing a tantrum in the house. 2014 will be another dominate outing for the dems.
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I don’t remember the democrats capitulating to George Bush when he was elected. Oh I forgot, that’s different, he’s a republican.
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Oh course they did. Remember the Democrats who supported the war in Iraq because they wanted to be team players unlike the GOP now.
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Harry Reid, “The war is lost”. “Team player” to the democrats means “be just like us or else”.
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About this withholding of commodities.
It is very hard to hold back foodstuff commodities very long. Rot, mold, insect damage and other spoilage sets in after time.
I was visiting with some farmers and they told me, that farmers would not hold back selling their commodities. Farmers are too independent to work together for something like that.
Some farmers contract for certain crops. Get paid a certain amount per bushel. If they are in any crop contract, they have to haul it in.
Also, farmers have bills to pay in the fall. Whether its the operating loan, fall land rent, etc., so much crop has to be sold to pay those bills.
If you had a commodity, such as physical silver, you can safeguard it and it would not rust, get moldy, spoil, etc..
Some people bought physical silver for $4.00 an ounce and sold it for $50.00 an ounce. The $50.00 an ounce happened in 2011. OK for silver to do, but foodstuff commodities are hard to store longterm.
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In Arizona we pay $1.50 for a gallon of milk; all the time. What gives?
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