Americans Could Pay $7 For A Gallon Of Milk If US Goes Off 'Dairy Cliff'

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. This is the typical double edged sword.

Consumers complain if milk prices get too high.

Farmers complain if milk prices are too low.

Of course, more and more milk is being produced on corporate style farms with thousands of head, instead of the family owned, less than 200 head type operations that once dominated the milk producing industry. (I should say, this is what I understand from what I have read. I am not a dairyman, nor am I a farmer)

I saw an interview once with a small operator. He was asked why he thinks more young people are not following him onto farming. This was a guy operating a modest farm with a modest herd in the upper Midwest.

He said something to the effect; "They aren't becoming farmers and dairymen because no young person these days wants to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no vacation or other benefits for the kind of money I make after expenses. Try and convince a 23 year old to do what I do for $2.50 an hour."

This is in part why we are seeing the demise of the small dairy farmer. Milk cows need to be milked every 12 hours, and in certain situations, every 8 hours. Large operations basically milk 24 hours a day EVERY DAY, with their herds split into groups that are ready for milking as soon as the previous group has finished.