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  • Price of Milk

    Okay, who let the cows out?!

    I don't get it...not a month ago, I am pretty dang sure I paid a bit under 4.50 for a half gallon of my favorite milk, and that is Viva One-percent, Acidopholus milk. That was when buying it in Foodland. Today my daughter grabbed me a half gallon of it and she said she paid 5.29! Whoa....

    now my sometimes feeble mind is thinking that there's never been that much of a difference in the price of it between those two stores. I am left wondering what the rest of you are paying for milk and especially if any of you buy the very same one I do.
    Stop being lost in thought where our problems thrive.~

  • #2
    Re: Price of Milk~

    Hmmmm... I just paid $3.50 for a half gallon of Lucerne Fat-free milk at Safeway. But then again, it’s probably cheaper because it’s mainland milk. It does seem that the price of milk is going up overall, and that should be expected now that the last local dairy company is about to shut its doors.

    We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

    — U.S. President Bill Clinton
    USA TODAY, page 2A
    11 March 1993

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    • #3
      Re: Price of Milk~

      In Oregon we paid 2.50 a gallon and here in Virginia it was a shocker to find it is all 5.00 or 6.00 a gallon!! WTH????
      2% 4.99 at WalMart!
      Since when is psycho a bad thing??
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      • #4
        Re: Price of Milk~

        Dangme! I failed to note the store daughter shopped today. It was Mililani's Star Market that she had to pay over five for the half gallon of said milk that I luv. sorry~
        Stop being lost in thought where our problems thrive.~

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        • #5
          Re: Price of Milk

          KHNL covered this subject a few days ago...

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          • #6
            Re: Price of Milk

            Thanks, Sue! Ten dollars a gallon for milk's a surprise for me even though I had caught KGMB's story on it a few weeks ago. It's gone up on base but not but fifty? or so cents a half gallon, and even that may be an exaggeration, I can't recall.
            Stop being lost in thought where our problems thrive.~

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            • #7
              Re: Price of Milk~

              Originally posted by TuNnL View Post
              Hmmmm... I just paid $3.50 for a half gallon of Lucerne Fat-free milk at Safeway. But then again, it’s probably cheaper because it’s mainland milk. It does seem that the price of milk is going up overall, and that should be expected now that the last local dairy company is about to shut its doors.


              psssttt..its mostly all mainland milk! unless you see the label island fresh on it then its from here. otherwise its brought in.

              best yet, western family, times etc are all what is called private label.. in reality it is meadow gold packaging their milk.. all MG does is change the box!

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              • #8
                Re: Price of Milk~

                Originally posted by CranBeree View Post
                unless you see the label island fresh on it then its from here ... in reality it is meadow gold packaging their milk.. all MG does is change the box!
                Not for long. As I said previously, the last local dairy will be closing its doors this summer (this was my main point). This means Meadow Gold will be importing all their milk from the mainland.

                So much for “Island Fresh.”

                We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

                — U.S. President Bill Clinton
                USA TODAY, page 2A
                11 March 1993

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                • #9
                  Re: Price of Milk~

                  I rarely drink milk myself, but I just checked the paper and it lists a gallon jug of Kroger brand at $1.93
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                  • #10
                    Re: Price of Milk

                    I guzzle half gallons of Lactaid fat-free milk. Cost at Trader Joe's: $3.79
                    Born in Hawaii, too - Truss me

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                    • #11
                      Re: Price of Milk~

                      Originally posted by TuNnL View Post
                      Not for long. As I said previously, the last local dairy will be closing its doors this summer (this was my main point). This means Meadow Gold will be importing all their milk from the mainland.

                      So much for “Island Fresh.”
                      So, can anyone please explain why only 25% of the milk in the supermarket are from local dairy farms?

                      And how does corn and ethanol factor into the price hike of milk?
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                      • #12
                        Re: Price of Milk~

                        Originally posted by Random View Post
                        [...]And how does corn and ethanol factor into the price hike of milk?
                        From the link above:
                        "The reason for the steep increase involves another pricey commodity, corn.
                        Farmers and the makers of ethanol are pushing up the price of corn."

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                        • #13
                          Re: Price of Milk~

                          Originally posted by Random View Post
                          So, can anyone please explain why only 25% of the milk in the supermarket are from local dairy farms?

                          And how does corn and ethanol factor into the price hike of milk?
                          Yes, it has something to do with more corn being used for ethanol production, but it's also because of higher fuel prices to transport the milk, and more expensive grain to feed the dairy cattle, the increased demand for milk products from American and foreign consumers (much of our milk goes into cheese products), and the weird way the government stacks the deck by having a milk price "floor" that is adjusted monthly (as noted in this article).

                          Another factor in the rise of dairy prices is the increase in demand for raw dairy products in foreign markets, particularly China.

                          "It all breaks down to supply and demand -- and we haven't had enough to meet the demand," said Michael Marsh, CEO of Western United Dairymen. "We've become the dominant player in world markets, and consumers are feeling that.

                          "What will continue to keep milk prices at a relatively high level for the next 12 to 18 months will be the fuel and energy situation and the demand in the U.S. for corn-based ethanol," he added.

                          Dairy farmers found themselves in "the eye of a perfect storm" for prices in the spring but the problem actually began last year, Marsh said.

                          Feed and fuel surged to record highs in 2006 and a major heat wave in July of last year caused milk production to drop.

                          "It just got so hot that during the day it rarely dropped below 110 degrees and the cattle were loathe to eat," Marsh said.

                          Dairy farmers lost about 21,000 head of cattle and another 11,000 calves, disrupting the breeding season. At the same time, the demand -- and the cost -- of corn went up.

                          A serious drought in Australia, which typically supplied dairy products to the Far East, halted production. Then New Zealand enacted new environmental regulations in 2007 that caused some dairy farmers to retire. Next, European export subsidies disappeared at the same time China, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam began importing.

                          "So, all of a sudden, at the same time the American dairy herds were shrinking, the only international player in the dairy market left was the U.S.," Marsh said. "And with the burgeoning world demand for dairy proteins, foreign buyers began buying from American dairy suppliers."

                          As of July 1, farmers receive about $1.99 for every gallon that goes into the bottle, he said. That will rise to $2.03 beginning Wednesday.

                          There's no correlation, however, between what farmers receive and what stores charge.

                          The state agriculture department has set a "milk floor" -- the lowest price at which retailers can sell milk. For example, if it costs $2.50 a gallon to get the milk from the farm and into the bottle, then the retailer cannot sell it for less than that.

                          The milk floor changes month-to-month, but there is no cap on the price a retailer can charge in California, unlike in other states.

                          Marsh said the high-priced dairy trend will eventually reverse, and milk prices will go down when production goes up.
                          And here's a more scholarly explanation from Texas A&M. Hawai'i has a double whammy because now you produce very little of your own milk...most of it is imported from CONUS and fuel prices for shipping goods have gone up significantly in recent months.

                          Miulang
                          "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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                          • #14
                            Re: Price of Milk

                            Another reason for the closing of Meadow Gold is explained in this Honolulu Advertiser article from January. Some of us tried to get our local congressional delegation to lobby for an exemption for Hawaii, but I never got a response. As far as I know, nothing was done. For a real eye-opener (and not in a good way) check out Larry Geller's posts about how milk gets here from the mainland, "milk is shipped to Oahu from the Mainland in unrefrigerated containers." is just one of the highlights. He does note that Costco brings in the milk they sell here in refrigerated containers.

                            Regarding the rising cost of corn because we're burning up our food supply for fuel, there are no words to describe how short-sighted that actually is. And, just noting Miulang's post above, excellent info there.
                            Last edited by glossyp; July 29, 2007, 03:48 PM. Reason: Add comment,

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                            • #15
                              Re: Price of Milk

                              Originally posted by glossyp View Post
                              Another reason for the closing of Meadow Gold is explained in this Honolulu Advertiser article from January. Some of us tried to get our local congressional delegation to lobby for an exemption for Hawaii, but I never got a response. As far as I know, nothing was done. For a real eye-opener (and not in a good way) check out Larry Geller's posts about how milk gets here from the mainland, "milk is shipped to Oahu from the Mainland in unrefrigerated containers." is just one of the highlights. He does note that Costco brings in the milk they sell here in refrigerated containers.
                              .
                              AARGH! That's really despicable! Good thing I am lactose-sensitive and can't drink whole milk (if I drink milk at all, I drink 1%). Isn't there any way to get some kind of response out of the Hawaii Congressional delegation? I wonder if the UH or the state Dept. of Agriculture have done any testing on the re-pasturized milk to see if its quality has degraded significantly in transit? Do the distributors in Hawai'i add additional vitamins that might have degraded in the shipping process as part of the re-pasturization process? And do the Oahu distributors ship re-pasturized milk to the Neighbor Islands in refrigerated containers or insulated ones?

                              Not everybody can afford to buy a Costco membership! Maybe there's a way to get to Meadow Gold and Haleakala Dairy and other milk distributors in Hawai'i to ship milk in refrigerated containers from CONUS instead of in insulated ones? Of course, that will increase prices to consumers, but we're talking about people's (especially growing kids) health here. I don't think many young families will forego milk even if it costs more if they know the milk is handled properly.

                              Miulang
                              "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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