BATAVIA U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said processors and retailers are reaping
big profits from milk sales, while dairy farms receive severely low prices that
have the industry on the brink of collapse.
Schumer is demanding the Department of Justice explore anti-competitive
practices in milk-pricing. The price paid to farmers fell to historic lows last
year, forcing farms to burn up equity and borrow huge sums from banks.
Meanwhile, Schumer said, the price for milk in the grocery stores didnt budge.
Our farmers are getting paid less and our consumers are paying more, Schumer
told about 200 people at Genesee Community College. Someone is making all the
money.
Schumer led a forum Monday with Christine Varney, assistant attorney general in
charge of the Department of Justices Anititrust Division. She is looking into
anti-trust issues in agriculture and already has met with farmers in Vermont and
Iowa. She will soon meet with farmers in Wisconsin.
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