Posted on 11/07/2021 8:53:29 AM PST by mylife
Some parts of the nation have seen localized spikes in milk prices. But most of the nation is facing an oversupply of milk — a challenge policy makers have been struggling to address.
Yes, food prices are up. But no, average U.S. milk prices aren’t skyrocketing — they’ve basically stayed the same since January.
That’s because the U.S. overall has an oversupply of milk, and it’s gotten worse over the past few decades as smaller farms have shuttered and larger farms have bought up their livestock and increasingly dominated the industry.
It’s been a problem that policymakers have been struggling to confront for years. And it’s not clear that Washington, D.C., will address this issue because other food prices have been rising much more as a result of the pandemic-induced supply chain breakdowns. The Biden administration has pledged to address antitrust issues in industries ranging from technology to meatpacking. But so far, the dairy sector hasn’t been the focus yet in part because consumers aren’t seeing significantly higher prices as a result of consolidation.
A CNN report this week triggered a brief social media spectacle after it featured a family saying retail milk prices skyrocketed (up 79 cents a gallon over just a few weeks for that couple in the Dallas area who were interviewed and said their family consumes 12 gallons a week). In fact, the average price of milk nationally has largely stayed steady throughout the year, according to the Agriculture Department.
Overall, the U.S. has been making more milk than it can use. “The availability and supply of milk is not a concern, it’s a concern about moving that milk to where it’s needed,” said Matt Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association, one of the largest dairy lobby groups in the U.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
But almond trees use more water than other crops….a problem in California
In self-defense, a lot of small producers should take a page from micro-brewers and go into boutique cheeses. The citified Dems will pay big bucks for it.
——Serious Cheesemonger, (though I vote conservative)
Milk always reminds me of when I was 11 in Le Conquet, France.
Early morning my French cousin and I were sent a short distance down the road to an ancient small farm to get milk.
They milked the cow directly into our container and we returned home for breakfast.
We attended weekly services in a 2000 year old church, which still had a dirt floor.
Those were the days, my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KODZtjOIPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlYPGjXy_LA
I agree.
I always wait till they mark aged cheese down for quick sale, it’s been in a cave for 2 years!
Went to Wal-Mart yesterday. Wanted a half-gallon of whole milk. There were only a few half-gallons and they cost $3.33 each. The gallons were $2.67 each and there were plenty. Go figure.
So why are prices so damn high???
Make it into cheese for long-term storage.
That is AFU!
We should be exporting the excess milk to countries like China, and the Middle East.
WE have the technology to do it.
There are millions if ways to use the excess.
“Safeway $1.99 for milk.”
I bought milk at Lidl today - $1.39/gal. I make yogurt with it in the Insta-Pot.
“I always wait till they mark aged cheese down for quick sale, it’s been in a cave for 2 years!”
Whenever I go to Harris Teeter I do a quick scan of the cheese case looking for the yellow labels. 90% off in most cases.
Soylent Green is people.
The oversupply during the lockdown made me notice something. The Milk we were getting was richer than normal, almost like half and half. Then when everything opened up it got weak again in flavor again. I think some are watering it down to make more of it when supply is short. They are not supposed to, but I think they are.
Any other milk drinkers notice that richer cream flavor when they need to get some over supply product moved?
All I really use is half and half.
Yessir.
I drink a glass of whole milk now and then, but use half and half in my cereal and in cooking. For awhile there I was having trouble tasting any difference between the two. The whole milk was just as rich as the half and half. Now the milk tastes watered down and weak. I think they were all watering it down before that happened and they are back to watering it down again.
It’s tasted watered down to me since the 70’s, I used to churn butter as a child.
Skim milk? Spit!! 2%? Spit!
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