Price of milk could skyrocket unless new farm bill is passed

<strong>LOGAN—</strong> You may have heard recently that unless the U.S. Congress passes a new farm bill by the end of the year, the cost of milk could go up to $8 a gallon. Arthur Douglas, Executive Director of the state’s Farm Service Agency for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says unfortunately that could really happen.

“If you go on the USDA website, you can hear a comment that Secretary (of Agriculture Tom) Villsack put out … regarding parity prices that the government would come in and be forced to pay the dairymen parity on the milk,” Douglas said. “I don’t know the exact figure, but it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 38-39 dollars a hundred, which would then in turn raise the price to the consumer.”

Douglas said that does add up to seven, eight, or nine cents a gallon. He also said the Senate passed the 2012 farm bill in July which would cut spending by $23 billion over 10 years. The House wants $35 billion in cuts, largely from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for food stamps.

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