Well the dairy farmers have been told to dump milk or drop production and take a big cut in milk. In other words, the processors are telling the farmer they either need to quit or take a deep cut in income because there is too much milk and no place to go with the milk. The processors are making excuses, in my opinion. They say they can’t keep up with processing milk that isn’t being sent to schools. They can’t make enough cheese, butter and other milk products fast enough because there is too much milk since all the schools and restaurants are closed down. Okay, let’s think about this a little bit.
Many schools are still providing meals to kids that are low income. Do the kids get milk with those meals at school? Shouldn’t they also get milk if they pickup their meals from the school? I’ve read where one school is not only handing out meals but a half gallon of milk with those schools! If all schools are handing out milk with meals, shouldn’t the processors be sending that milk to the schools? Wouldn’t that be using up some of the bulk milk? Many restaurants are closed but many are offering food-to-go. If they are using milk in their foods, where does that milk come from? Really?
The dairy industry has taken hit after hit in the past ten years, now we have the virus that has made things worse. Yet people still need milk. Walmart and some other chain grocery stores are limiting the amount of milk you can purchase because there is a supposed ‘shortage’, which is a flat out lie! Some stores have jacked up the price of a gallon of milk, which is price gouging and illegal. Only the stores and processors are making money in this situation and the farmers are losing their incomes, some are losing their farms and there are some who have been dairy farmers all their lives are committing suicide in greater numbers each day.
So what do we do? In some states, raw milk sales are allowed and in Kansas, you can go to a dairy and buy raw milk and other raw milk products made by the farmers. You pay about the same price as you would at the grocery store but the farmer actually gets a larger portion of that money (all of it), compared to processed milk. Raw milk is safe and in my opinion healthier because the beneficial probiotics that are killed in pasteurization are still in the raw milk and those who are lactose intolerant are usually able to drink raw milk as the enzymes needed to process it are in the milk.
Another option is to demand that the schools provide the milk to the children when they hand out the meals. Send enough milk for a whole day, not just one meal. This will take up some of the milk supply. The restaurants that are still in business need to use more milk and soon, the opening of businesses will start taking up the excess milk as states open back up. Consumers need to be purchasing as much milk as possible as there is no shortage!
We need to question the milk processors. Excuses that they can’t keep up with processing is questionable. If they have a lot of sick employees, that is one thing, if they are just trying to make more money by forcing a shortage to make prices rise, then something needs to be done. One thing is for sure, we need to question why we have so few milk processors. It used to be every town had a meat locker, milk processor and other small Mom and Pop shops that provided our needs. Sadly the big stores took over and now we have these kind of problems. Sometimes the old ways are still the best ways.
Bottom Line: DRINK MORE MILK, EAT MORE CHEESE, REAL BUTTER, COTTAGE CHEESE AND ICE CREAM!
Educated Cowpuncher 