SOUTH BEND, Ind., April 24 (UPI) -- Milk and dairy prices are forecast to hit record highs during the next few months, Indiana's South Bend Tribune reports.
Several factors are contributing to the rise, including the mad cow scare, higher beef prices, and increased demand for dairy.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it is raising the new minimum milk price for farmers to $1.69 per gallon. That could raise grocery-store prices for milk as high as $3.40 per gallon, and prices for other dairy products, such as ice cream and cheese, are also expected to go rise.
Low milk prices during 2002 and 2003 resulted in about 5 percent of dairy farmers going bankrupt since the mad cow scare prevented importation of cows and high beef prices drove some dairy farmers to slaughter milk cows earlier than usual -- all of which reduced the number of milk cows in the United States.
Also, the Monsanto Co, the maker of a synthetic milk-production-boosting hormone, has decided to cut hormone allotments by 50 percent. The hormone boosts a cow's milk output by about 10 percent. The St. Louis-based company's move will likely cut national milk production by about 1 percent.
