Fewer dairy farms means price of milk will be rising

US - Too many people, not enough cows
calendar icon 23 March 2007
clock icon 2 minute read
Milk prices, steadily climbing since the 1980s, are poised to rise again.

Farmers are selling out to developers for a hefty profit while being squeezed by an increase in corn prices and the increasing costs of environmental regulations.

Adding to the pressure are the hundreds of thousands of people who continue to move into the Sunshine State every year -- many of them lifelong milk drinkers.

"The number of farms have been shrinking in every state in the country and Florida is no exception," said Albert de Vries, a University of Florida assistant professor of dairy sciences. "What's new is corn prices are rising due to the use of corn for ethanol production so that corn is not available to dairy producers for feed."

It is not just milk that is going to cost you more: ice cream, cheese and other dairy products also are likely to rise, too.

"I really don't see any quick fixes," said de Vries, who recently published a report on the problems facing Florida dairy farmers for UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Other industry watchers agree.

"This ethanol competition for the corn will be huge this year and will put some dairies out of business," said Maggie Murphy, special projects coordinator for Southeast Milk Inc., a 340-member cooperative of dairy farmers from Florida to North Carolina.

"It's a double-whammy. Land values make it difficult to justify continued dairy farming coupled with the increased cost of corn."

Source: Herald Tribune.com
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