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["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>]

There are government subsidies to dairy farmers, and the government used to 
step in and buy surplus (mostly cheese and dried milk) to keep prices up. 
But the hundredweight price to the farmer is set by an incredibly 
complicated formula, involving (in  this area) the distance to Boston and 
the wholesale price of cheese (I kid you not). Individual coops offer 
premiums for quality or butterfat or organic milk, but I have yet to meet a 
dairy farmer that has the slightest understanding of why they are paid what 
they are paid. Many have been running at a loss for a while now (right now 
less than $1/gallon goes to the farmer).

And there are no quotas...farmers can add production whenever they feel like 
it...adding cows to a dairy losing money reminds me of the old joke...two 
guys are buying eggs by the truckload for $1 a dozen in the country and 
selling them for $.90 a dozen in the city...they notice that they are losing 
money, so one scratches his head and says "I know...we need a bigger truck".

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga Co. PA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <DSanner106 AT aol.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 8:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Democrats, past, present and future-was Video


> Similar here, there are price supports for the industry that have
> maintained a price at which the private
> farmers could afford to stay in business and turn a small profit. Lately
> though, the price has been
> allowed to drop to a level that guarantees extreme losses.
>
> Drew
>
>
> In a message dated 8/30/2009 8:22:46 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> gil.white AT xplornet.com writes:
>
> How does  that work?
>
> In Ontario we have milk, cheese and dairy marketing boards  that set the
> price but also control the production. Farmer's are guaranteed  a fixed 
> rate
> for their produce but only if they stay within their 'quota'.  There are
> fines if they exceed it. In addition they can only sell to the  marketing
> board.
>
> > From watching my neighbor who was a dairy  farmer it was possible for a
> small
> farmer ( something like 80 cows ) to  make a living, though I'm sure in
> years
> when he had to bring in feed I'm  sure he struggled.
>
> He ended up selling off the dairy cattle and  switched to lamb production
> but
> it had more to do with just how much work  it was for one person milking
> that
> many cows twice a day then it had to do  with the money.
>
> Gil
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:  homestead-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:homestead-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]  On Behalf Of Lynn 
> Wigglesworth
> Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 2:10 PM
> To:  homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Democrats, past,  present and future-was Video
>
> Around here the government has had control  of the dairy industry for a
> long
> time. In Pennsylvania, the retail price  of milk is fixed by law...it goes
> up, but never goes down, and it's  illegal to sell under the fixed price.
> $1.50/gallon milk?? We haven't seen  that in years...it's around $3/gallon
> here, but the farmers see very  little of that money. They are predicting
> that many PA and NY dairy  farmers will be out of business by the end of
> the
> year.
>
> Lynn  Wigglesworth
>
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