Bill Coleman
Scandia Area ReporterEvert Anderson of Wyoming is spending more money for milk these days ó almost a dollar more per gallon than last year at this time. But he doesnít seem to mind.
ìItís about time dairy farmers start making something,î said Anderson while picking up a couple gallons of milk at a local grocery. Anderson is a former farmer himself.
ìThe more a farmer can make the better I say. Itís a crime they donít make more.î
Anderson isnít alone.
Area milk consumers ó while obviously unhappy with milk prices progressively rising ó are supportive of area dairy farmers making a profit, and after years of scrimping and saving they finally are.
Dairy farmers this summer have enjoyed milk prices that reached a record high in May of just over $20 per hundredweight, which is about 11.6 gallons. Thatís up almost $9 from January and more than a 100 percent increase from last year at this time.
ìIím not real happy paying so much for milk,î said Terry Mansmith, mother of three of Forest Lake. ìBut Iíd rather pay more for milk and see farmers profit, than pay more for gasoline and see the rich get even richer. Milk like gas is something you just have to buy.î
Until last Thursday, retail milk prices have been steadily on the rise in 2004.
In February the average price for a gallon of two percent milk was $3.18. The average price in June was $3.82.
On Thursday local retailers cut their prices anywhere from $.10 to $.40 depending on the type of milk ó hormone free, organic, skim, one percent, two percent or whole milk. Debbie Wallraff, owner of the Scandia Store said she was told from her milk supplier that her cost per gallon would be dropping, too.
ìIím not sure how (wholesalers) set prices, but all I know is that milk is my least profitable item I sell,î Wallraff said.
Dairy department personnel at both Cub and Rainbow foods said they didnít exactly know why milk prices rise and fall, but claim its market driven like any other product.
Coop CEO speaks
According to Ken McMahon, the chief executive officer at the Ellsworth Co-operative Creamery, Ellsworth, WI, where much of the local milk is shipped, there are many factors that determine the price a farmer gets paid for milk. But why those factors donít seem to reflect what happens at the grocery store is a mystery, he said.
ìFarmers just want a fair price,î McMahon said. ìI believe, and grocers wonít tell you this, but dairy products ó at least in the larger grocery stores ó are some of the highest mark up items in the store. It will be interesting to see what happens when the farmer's price goes down.î
According to McMahon, who was busy writing milk checks last week, prices have dropped roughly $3 this month, but experts believe the price will stabilize and as the summer heat hits the nation in August production will drop and cause the farmers price to go up again.
ìMaybe even higher than May,î McMahon said. ìWho knows what will happen at the grocery stores?î
McMahon said some of the reasons milk prices rise and fall for the farmer include: high fuel and feed costs, less cows being milked, high daily temperatures, a shortfall of growth hormones and the basic elements of supply and demand.
Good Times
Gary and Brian Rydeen milk 45 cows twice a day on their father Les Rydeenís 200-acre farm just south of Scandia and have recently been able to invest in new farm equipment, extra fertilizer and whittle down farm debt.
ìItís nice, for once, to have some money. Who knows how long this is going to last though,î Gary Rydeen said.
ìWeíve seen the ups and downs enough to know prices arenít always going to be good for us. The milk-checks are nice now, but you have to save for a rainy day. It all runs in cycles, the good always comes with the bad.
ìIíll admit though itís a lot more enjoyable heading out to the barn these days than itís been in the past.î
FL view
Jeff Winberg milks about 40 head on his land located on the east side of Forest Lake and good times have allowed him to take his family on a vacation this summer to Glacier National Park.
ìItís something we did plan on before prices started rising, but the extra money is sure going to make it less stressful financially,î Winberg said.
ìYou have to remember, for the past 10 years weíve been just getting by. Now weíre finally able to catch up, pay off some bills and relax a little knowing you have something in your checking account.î
Before this year, the farmerís milk was being sold for less than $10 per hundredweight.
ìWe were just getting by,î Winberg said. ìThe press is all over us when we start to make decent money, but when prices fall again where will they be. We just want a fair price.
ìWe know the large checks weíre getting now wonít last forever. We just want to be compensated for all the hard work we put in. Thatís all anybody really wants, isnít it?î
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