There was a forum in Madison on Friday, at which dairy farmers gathered to complain about low milk prices. Many of them called for a probe of low prices for milk. See, At Madison Forum, Farmers Call for Federal Probe of Dairy Industry.
At the meeting, participants tried to determine how, in the words of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, “Farmers were losing $100 per cow per month while consumers were not seeing a drop in price,” Feingold said. “Some in the middle of the supply chain were posting record profits. Something is amiss.”
Feingold’s right, something is amiss. The solution, however, doesn’t rest with the federal government, or state government; they’re part of the problem. Special interests have kept profitable raw milk off the market, leaving small farmers at the mercy of big cooperatives and dairy industry lobbyists. (There’s a high demand for raw milk, and so it sells for more than pasteurized milk.)
Farmers don’t need a federal investigation; they need an end to federal and state regulations that favor big players over small dairies.