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Right, that's what I was implying. Without subsidies, there is no minimum that the farmer is guaranteed to make per pound of [insert subsidized product here]. This means that if there's an abundance of [product], and the value of it drops as a result (supply/demand - if there's lots of stuff, the price goes down), then the farmer could be working 5x as much, to sell at a reduced price, and end up going out of business. The subsidies create an artificial minimum value so that this doesn't happen.
To whoever was asking if I'm trolling, or where I got the information from, I got it from a former (deceased) president of two New England dairies, back when I was his secretary. He grew up on a dairy farm, then moved to New England and became manager of one, then became its president, then that dairy was sold to another dairy and he became president of -that- dairy, and then that one was absorbed into a pretty significant dairy/cooperative, from which he retired as their Marketing Director.
My job was to configure the minimum pricing per month of raw butterfat, based on the government-mandated minimum pricing of butterfat from Wisconsin and New York. And then, I had to extend the pricing out for government bids (including municipalities and schools), and determine the base price for retail, home delivery, wholesale, non-government non-retail entities (such as daycare centers and physical rehab senior care centers, for example). It was my job to know about the dairy subsidies, and it was my boss who taught to to me.
I'm guessing he knew a little tiny bit more about agriculture economics than you do.
I like how you ignored the fact that the information I presented came from Daniel Sumner, Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis, a guy with a Ph.D. in Economics who has tons of published papers on agricultural economics. Instead you attacked my credentials, which are irrelevant, and which does absolutely nothing to discredit his information.
In 2004, the USDA conducted a study at the behest of Congress, and published a report to Congress called "Economic Effects of US Dairy Policy and Alternative Approaches to Milk Pricing."
They found that:
Quote:
Dairy programs raise the retail price of fluid milk and lower the prices of manufactured products such as butter and cheese.
Quote:
The retail price effects are similar to those at the wholesale level, a reflection of the assumption that processors and dairy product manufacturers pass through input (milk or milk components) cost increases or reductions to consumers. Thus, consumers see lower butter and cheese prices and higher fluid milk prices than would appear in the absence of the programs.
Quote:
An examination of dairy program impacts suggests that Federal dairy programs raise the all-milk price by only about 1 percent
There is a table near the bottom of the report that shows two estimates of the effects of the US Dairy Program on the retail-level cost of fluid milk. One estimates that it increases the price by 3.4%, the other 7.7%.
So let's average them and say that it increases the price by 5.5%.
As of November 2012 the average price of a gallon of milk in the US was $3.54 according to http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost. 94.5% of $3.54 is $3.34- that is what the price would be without subsidies (roughly), not $10 per gallon. Notice that $3.54-$3.34= 20 cents, the exact same figure that Daniel Sumner used that was mentioned in my previous post.
And that .20 is multiplied by the number of gallons brought to the manufacturer by the individual dairy farm, and then divided back to the farm as their cut.
Elmhurst Dairy in New York is a good example of a typical New England dairy manufacturer. They take in 25-30 tanker trucks of milk every day. Each truck holds 70,000 gallons of milk, and their milk comes from a couple handsfull of independent dairy farms.
So multiply the 70,000 per tanker, with the 25 tankers (that would be a minimum), and multiply the sum of -that- by .20 cents. That comes to $350,000 PER DAY of subsidies, the government is giving JUST to the farms who bring milk into Elmhurst Dairy.
Multiply that with the number of gallons given to OTHER manufacturers by farms...and you have billions of dollars in subsidies that are helping to support the nation's dairies. No, they're not getting rich off these subsidies. They're not supposed to be getting rich off them. But they -are- helping to keep them running. And no, a single dairy farm missing out on that 20 cents for a single gallon of milk, won't be missing anything at all. He misses out on a lot more than that just by taking a single cow out of production for a week for mastitis.
But that dairy isn't getting 20 cents for a single gallon of milk. He's getting thousands of dollars every month for tens of thousands of gallons of milk his cows produce. Without it, he -might- survive. Or he might not. He might have to cut a few corners in production and sterilization (that's a pretty expensive part of dairy manufacture).
I find it odd that so many adults drink milk, because there are so many things in cow milk that are really not good for adults. How can people not know about the saturated fats and cholesterol and all? Not to mention the higher rates of cancers amongst adults who drink a lot of milk.
And there are so many other foods that are very good sources of calcium. Cabbages and leafy greens and green veggies, for example, like broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy; as well as sardines and anchovies. Most tofu is calcium rich, as well as soy-milk and enriched orange juice. It's a well-marketed myth that adults need milk in their diet. Matter of fact, there are very large parts of the world where milk is not consumed at all, like most of Asia.
Want something different on your corn flakes? Besides the obvious... the non-dairy "milks" like soymilk and almond milk... try any other beverage you like to wet them down. If you're drinking coffee anyway, spilling some over your cereal may be more natural seeming and tasty than you'd expect. I discovered how good dry cereal was with orange juice years ago out of pure necessity. And of course, most bachelors have discovered that another favorite brewed beverage can be part of a "Breakfast of Champions."
I find it odd that so many adults drink milk, because there are so many things in cow milk that are really not good for adults. How can people not know about the saturated fats and cholesterol and all? Not to mention the higher rates of cancers amongst adults who drink a lot of milk.
A 3oz cut of prime rib roast has more saturated fats and cholesterol than an 8oz glass of milk. It also significantly increases your chances of getting cancer. A bit hypocritical since you eat prime rib.
Fine with me, I will have to use almond milk instead I guess. Even though I have never tired it, I hear its good. No milk isnt meant for human consumption, but I do like it in my cereal every now and then. I LOVE cheese though.
I tried the almond milk and found I like it very much on cereal. I would miss my ice cream though if it doubles in price. As for cheese, I do love it when it's made from goat's milk. I have a feeling this is just another "over blown" news story. They hype so much of what goes on it is rediculus. Unrelated but kind of funny -- this morning on the Today Show Savannah Guthrie said the upcoming story was going to be about the "controversy" about how long you should leave up a Christmas Tree.. --How stupid - I just clicked it OFF
A 3oz cut of prime rib roast has more saturated fats and cholesterol than an 8oz glass of milk. It also significantly increases your chances of getting cancer. A bit hypocritical since you eat prime rib.
The prime rib industry isn't pushing 3 prime ribs a day on you and your kids.
That's an occasional thing.
Not an everyday thing.
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