Posted on 07/13/2023 10:50:41 AM PDT by Red Badger
* There is an oversupply of milk in the U.S.
* Cows have to be milked. If not, could cause bruising, sickness, even death
* Demand for milk is down 20% this year, the cost dropped to $1.78 per gallon
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — There’s no shortage of milk in the U.S. these days. In fact, there is so much of it that farmers are being forced to get rid of it.
The issue at hand is that milk is a daily commodity. Whether there’s a demand for it or not, the cows have to be milked. If a cow is not milked, it could cause bruising, sickness and even death.
Once the milk is collected, it must be transported to a dairy facility for processing.
However, now there’s too much milk and it’s forcing farmers to dump it because the facilities can’t keep up with the demand and have run out of space to store the milk.
The processing plants are dealing with labor shortages, especially on the weekends, which means there’s less production of milk products.
In the upper Midwest, the demand for milk is down 20% this year. A Wisconsin-based dairy publication, The Milkweed, said that the daily loss of sales in the region equals about 25 semi-trailers of milk per day.
Because the demand for milk is down, so are the prices.
In June 2022, milk was at $2.30 per gallon, and the latest figures available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show the price in April has dropped by more than $.50 per gallon to about $1.78 per gallon.
The price of class 3 milk, which is used to make cheese, is also on the decline. In June 2022, the price was $24.33 per hundredweight, and in May, it dropped by more than $8.
Cheese production facilities can’t take advantage of the cheaper milk prices because they also don’t have space to keep refrigerated products such as cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
The last time American farmers were forced to dump so much milk was during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools and restaurants were shut down. During that time, the demand for milk took a huge hit, but eventually was able to bounce back.
Farmers are hoping that happens again.
In the meantime, some Minnesota dairy farmers are downsizing by selling cows to try and balance out their over-supply issues.
Can’t milk be stored as cheese?
Just think of all the CHEESE that milk could have made!......................
Of course!................
So why is the price so high if there is so much of it?
Where does all this milk get dumped? Seems like it would not be easy to get rid of...
Yes, but that takes time and equipment. And if the cheese makers are full up...
Fodder for the left. There’s po’ folk out there you know.
Someone should have bought it to be made into cheese then.
Market is working out the supply demand process here. Sometimes its harsh.
The Walmart box of 60 eggs that was as high as $19.95 last winter is now back to $6-7 in Va and SC.
They want to keep it high. That’s why they dump it....................
No reason to cry over dumped milk.
Good question...........
it used to be called government cheese...
now it’s down the drain
Cheese plants are running at full capacity. Local cheese factory is asking farmers to cut back on production.
Price of a gallon in my area is nearly $4
More profit for less processing with no protests.
We are being raped from all angles.
“This is fine”
MAKE POWDERED MILK OR CheESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A huge part of the problem is that other products that are not milk are now allowed to market themselves as “milk” including “almond milk” “soy milk” and “oat milk”. Combine that with the current phobia of anything to do with cows due to the climate scam, and you have a serious market problem for dairy producers.
I try to encourage all my family members to drink actual milk, although several are convinced they have allergies and lactose intolerance. Our society is consumed with hypocondria.
Or powdered?
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