BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Your grocery bills might look a little different in the coming months.
Behind every bottle of milk’s price tag are federal regulations. Vermont farmers say it’s time to recalculate.
Joanna Lidback works tirelessly to get milk from cow to carton on her Barton farm. But she and most dairy farmers across Vermont aren’t the ones setting milk prices. “We’re doing the best we can with what we have, and we just ask for a fair price at the end of the day,” said Lidback
Lidback is part of Agri-Mark Dairy Cooperative. They buy milk from farmers to sell to customers, all based on federal orders that determine pricing.
In recent years, dairy farmers, processors, and co-ops like Agri-Mark have sounded the alarm about outdated pricing formulas.
Current regulations haven’t changed since 2008.
“All these groups were starting to see that those cracks were unfolding in the system, and we wanted to do something about it,” Catherine de Ronde, Agri-Mark’s Vice President of Economics and Legislative Affairs argues that current milk pricing is reflective of an outdated milk market, ignoring nearly two decades of change in the industry.
National Dairy Industry players brought these concerns to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is set to finalize new regulations on Tuesday.
“It’s not the perfect decision from what we’ve seen so far, but it’s pretty darn close to what we asked for,” said de Ronde.
It’s unclear exactly how these new regulations will impact milk pricing. De Ronde says an analysis estimates that some farmers will get paid more meaning higher milk prices in some pockets of the country.
However pricing shifts, she believes the change will ultimately benefit all levels of the dairy industry. “When our prices are reflected of the true market, the system is going to work better. And I think that’s a positive, regardless of where you are on the chain, if you’re the consumer or you’re the farmer,” said de Ronde.
As for Lidback, she’s confident that Vermonters will continue to support their local dairy farmers even if costs creep up,“We do have the kind of consumer that cares and wants to support their neighbors.”
Once the USDA issues its final decision, dairy producers can vote on the new order. They expect that vote sometime in December or January. However