NFU Blog

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Posts in ‘Dairy’

NFU Op-Ed: Milking the Cow, Not the Consumer

Monday, June 25th, 2007

By Tom Buis, National Farmers Union President

June is National Dairy Month and I am pleased to have the opportunity to thank dairy producers across the nation for the affordable, abundant, safe and high quality dairy products they produce for consumers around the world.

As consumers face increased food retail prices this summer, they are often left wondering why. Too often, the media will say it’s the fault of the producer. Too often, consumers don’t understand that the amount of money they pay for groceries is very limited in its connection to the amount of money the producer receives for that product.

The assertion that dairy farmers are to blame for increased dairy products couldn’t be further from the truth. (more…)

Posted in Consumers, Dairy, From the President | No Comments »

High Milk Prices at the Grocery Store Don’t Mean Producer Profits

Thursday, May 17th, 2007

dairycowAn article in this morning’s Toledo Blade on retail dairy prices is the first of many stories sure to appear this spring and summer attempting to connect the retail level prices consumers pay for milk to the amount of money dairy producers receive.

If oil is “black gold,” milk may be the “other white gold” – not quite as valuable ounce for ounce as jewelry but getting quite expensive.

The true cause of retail dairy price increases is not a result of what dairy farmers receive, but rather processors and retailers mark ups. According to USDA, non-farm costs including marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing account for 80 cents of every food dollar spent in the United States.

Take a look at NFU’s most recent Farmers Share – milk may be $3.49 at the store, but the dairy producer receives only $1.18.

Post your comments below to let us know what you think. endcap

Posted in Dairy, Media | No Comments »