Milk Prices

[coffee joe]

I have seen lots of threads relating to the price of milk. While it is great to help support your neighbor farmers it is also a good idea to know how little a farmer gets for all the work to produce your Grade A milk. Presently about $1.25/gal for truckload quantities. I'm one of those, and this is one of many reasons, I am learning about making great artisan cheese.

http://future.aae.wisc.edu/data/annual_values/by_area/6?tab=prices

[MrsKK]

Are you in Wisconsin, Joe?  I ask because I live in the west central part of the state and am totally disgusted by our governor's veto of the recent raw milk bill.  He was obviously bought out by the dairy middle men who are making the money on milk.  Passage of the bill would have been a boon to dairy farmers, IMHO, and would have gone a long way towards educating the general public on the benefits of raw milk.

I wish you well on your venture in artisan cheese making.

[BigCheese]

Did you go to the recent symposium, KK?

[Sailor Con Queso]

MrsKK - I too was disgusted by your govenor's actions. A lot of milk people around the country were watching the outcome. Wisconsin could have been (was in fact) a leader in the raw milk battle. But as we all know it's really about the politics and not public health. In the governor's case he had agreed to sign off on the bill before it was passed and was talked out of it, so the politics were pretty blatant. Lets the big producers maintain their monopoly and dictate milk prices to farmers. This legislation would have gone a long way towards educating the public and more importantly the food industry people. Our largest regional grocery chain is Krogers. They refuse to sell any cheeses that are made from unpasteurized milk. And yet they are selling tons of raw sushi every day.

[DeejayDebi]

It's sad that Wisconsin of all places can't sellraw milk. I buy my raw milk from a few some what local farmers for $6/gallon. Here is legal to sell raw milk. Questionable pasturized /homoginized  commercial milk is about $4/gallon in grocery stores so I think it a great deal!

[MarkShelton]

I'm getting my raw milk for $4/gal. I don't know if the farmer isn't aware of what raw milk can sell for or if he is just glad to get more than $1/gal from the company that buys it. Either way, I'll consider myself lucky and not tell him what I would pay for it!

[MrsKK]

No, I haven't been able to attend the meetings.  The first one was just 20 miles from home, but my car was in the shop with an un-driveable condition.  The second big meeting was in Madison, which is clear across the state and not a place I like to visit (I hate big cities).

It makes me sad, but very grateful that I made the move to get my own cow long before this fiasco occurred.  I just hope people wise up for the next election!

[tnsven]

Are cow shares or herd shares legal up there? They were just made legal (really, just affirmed) here in Tennessee last year. Many cow/herd shares are now popping up here. It is possible to make a decent living doing a herd or cow share with 2-10 cows and, perhaps, selling some grass fed beef and a few other farm products. This is exactly what "they" don't want farmers doing. Makes them too independent. No farm aid needed anymore. Aid to farmers = votes. Of course, this works in other industries as well.

If this is too political, say so and I will delete it. I get a bit steamed with local, state, and federal governments that keep us from making a real, decent living. Farming is what made this country great. Without it, the industrial revolution could not have happened.

Just MHO

Kristin

[MrsKK]

No, cow shares are not legal.  For a couple of years, Grade A dairy farmers were able to sell shares in their milking license and people could buy raw milk that way, then the legislators decided that they were using it as a way to get around the ban on raw milk, so they outlawed license shares.

It truly is about where the big money is.

[Gina]

I just got back from the store (Trader Joe's) and noticed the price per gallon of generic homo milk has gone up 20cents/gallon to $2.89. I'd noticed the past couple weeks an upward price creep in a local chain store (at $2.69 now), but TJ's prices have been relatively stable - till today.

 

[ConnieG]

In Utah the law was changed to allow raw milk but not from small farmers  .  The raw milk dairies aren't large by diary standard but they had enough  pull to outlaw milk shares and milk sold as 'pet quality'.   One person I know who has tried it says that by the time they are done testing it and approving released for sale, the milk is 5 days old.

[DeejayDebi]

When we were in Vermont last weekend the lady at Shelborne Farms told us they can sell raw milk to people for their own consumption but not to stores now. That's a plus.

Store milk here has been $3.89/gallon for the past two years. I think Walmart milk is $3.15 but it won't make cheese - must be UHT but it doesn't say it. Raw cows milk can be had for $6/gallon. Goats milk is $12/gallon and sheeps milk when available is $8/gallon.

[Brentsbox]

I am really blessed!  I only pay $3.00 a gallon for Raw milk.  The lady comes to town once a week and makes 2 stops.  One of them is just a couple mile from my house.  So, every Wednesday, i get my 5 gallons at 12:30.   

[Sailor Con Queso]

That's one of the best deals in the country for fresh, raw milk. Be sure you give her some cheese every now and then.

[DeejayDebi]

WOW! I can't even get the store stuff for $3/gallon! Good deal!