HANFORD — A dairy bill in the state Assembly that would raise milk prices is highlighting a fight between producers and processors.
The bill, currently in the Assembly Agriculture Committee, is being strongly supported by dairy operators who have seen months of losses due to drought and high feed costs.
Producers say the price they are paid is being undervalued because it doesn’t include the value of whey, a cheese byproduct that was once thrown away but is now manufactured into a wide variety of protein-based consumer products.
AB 31, sponsored by Western United Dairymen, would raise the whey component of the price to reflect prices paid to other states under the federal milk marketing order.
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