“Milk is too expensive, we need them to work cheap to lower the cost.”
I trust this is sarcasm.
Milk last month was $14.48 cwt (per hundred pds). There is 8.6 pounds per gallon. Farmers are paid .1448 per pound I paid $5.50 a gallon the other night (CA, I gather it is under $2.50 in CO Safeways).
Yes, there are a lot of middle man costs, pasteurization, shipping, etc, but farmers don’t see that. They do see subsidies but as a result, the price of milk is set by government. Essentially, you pay for you milk through your taxes. If the government got out of it and the EPA got off their backs we would see milk prices change. Let others pasteurize, let farmers sell direct, etc.
We see a lot of the same about illegals here in wine country. Regardless, Australia produces wine without a border for illegals to cross, as do many other producers. Still, as minimum wages rise as well as increased regulation, insurance costs, forced benefits etc you are seeing more and more vineyards mechanize.
I do not know a lot about dairies, but they are already pretty well automated but cut them loose from government, free the market, and they probably can pay what needs to be paid.
RE :”“Milk is too expensive, we need them to work cheap to lower the cost.”
......
I trust this is sarcasm.”
Americans love cheap prices, that’s why they go to Walmarts, Coscos and Sam’s Club, as well as use Amazon.
But they also want the workers to be well taken care of , so they support rises in minimum wage and lots of other employer mandates.
Illegals are the only way we can ‘drink our milk and have it too’, with cake, to support expensive employer mandates but still have cheap prices.