We've all heard the saying, "don't cry over spilled milk," but what if you're crying over it while it's still in the jug? 😢🥛
There's talk of Pennsylvania possibly putting a stop to the set minimum price for milk, and it's not necessarily a good thing for farmers. 🧑🌾 According to a new study, many Pennsylvania dairy farms and bottling plants would likely go out of business if the minimum price structure went away. 💨
Here’s Five Fast Facts on how a drop in milk prices could hurt PA dairy farmers and bottlers:
- 🗣️ Critic Chatter - Since the 1930s, Pennsylvania's Milk Marketing Board set wholesale and retail minimum prices on fluid milk, cream, and sour cream sold all over the state. Critics say the policy "discourages milk consumption and hurts farmers’ milk checks by causing Pennsylvanians to pay more for milk than shoppers in neighboring states."
- 🐄 How Now Brown Cow - Without the minimum price support in place, retailers would likely push processors into a race to the bottom. This would cause plants to struggle to make money as they try to stay competitive.
- 💸 Under Pressure - Outside of PA, retailers use bidding processes to pressure dairy processors to lower their costs. If Pennsylvania did away with minimum pricing, they'll start to experience this, too. Price wars would be everywhere and eventually, larger processors would start gobbling up and consolidating the little guys.
- 🐮 Going Under - The price wars could put an estimated 57% of Pennsylvania’s milk processors at risk of bankruptcy. This makes up two-thirds of PA's fluid milk processing capacity.
- 🍼 A Crazy Cost - A slash in minimum milk pricing could cut PA's milk production by 10%, which would cost the state's economy $2.8 billion. Doing away with the price support would eliminate roughly $700 million in wages and 10,000 jobs. Rural areas would be hit the hardest.
🔥Bottom line: It might not seem like a big deal, but dropping minimum milk pricing could have a major trickle down effect (pun intended) on the state's economy. If this goes through, it would certainly shake things up, and not in a good way for local farmers. We'll watch and see how things turn out. Waiting for that license? If the state doesn't get it to you by the deadline, PA might owe you a refund.
Are you a big milk drinker?
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