3 ms·

A gallon in the stores costs $4-5

ams6110 8y ago
Yes if you buy "organic" milk in a glass bottle. Around here a gallon in a plastic jug at Kroger is about $2.00. Keep in mind milk is often priced as a "loss leader" to get people into the store..
GlenTheMachine 8y ago
I don't know where you're shopping. A gallon of milk this afternoon cost me $2.59.
- markkanof 8y ago
  A 1/2 gallon of organic whole milk at a grocery store in Portland, OR is 3.99 or 4.59 depending on if the store brand is available or not. Not disputing any of your knowledge of the industry, just adding another data point.
khuey 8y ago
Even in San Francisco a gallon of milk at Trader Joe's is under $3/gallon.
- shagie 8y ago
  There's some interesting mechanics in the milk subsidies. The original subsidy was based on the distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin ( http://icetronauts.tripod.com/milk.htm http://icetronauts.tripod.com/milk.htm ). > Under the system established in the 1930s, the farther a state was from Eau Claire, the higher were the federal price subsidies paid to its dairy farmers on milk sold for bottling. > For example, the maximum subsidy, or differential, paid to Wisconsin dairy farmers is $1.20 per 100 pounds of milk, while farmers in southern Florida are paid $4.18 per 100 pounds. California is even further away. The particulars of it are at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR.htm https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR/html/G... It is still based in part on Eau Claire. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/08/what-does-boston-have-with-milk-prices-wisconsin-turns-out-lot/AUfXl8MXtCffhdw3PD79bJ/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/08/what-does-bo... Between water policy, oversupply during the Eau Claire Base Point and existing subsidies... California is a very odd place to produce milk and the cheap milk is a legacy of those policies. And the last spring and hot summer in Eau Claire ( http://www.aos.wisc.edu/%7Esco/clim-history/stations/eau/eau-gddu-2018.gif http://www.aos.wisc.edu/%7Esco/clim-history/stations/eau/eau... & https://madison.com/wsj/business/usda-wisconsin-milk-production-slows/article_51ca73f4-b466-5f2d-ab1b-8b08874643c0.html https://madison.com/wsj/business/usda-wisconsin-milk-product... ) will impact the price of milk there, along with the tariff spat with Canada... which in turn changes the amount of the subsidy across the country.
gnulinux 8y ago
I lived in both the Bay Area and Boston, two of most expensive areas in the US, a gallon of milk costs me less than $3. Trader Joe's is your friend. You can even get organic milk or non-dairy milk (soy, almond, coconut) for less than $6 a gallon.

Yes if you buy "organic" milk in a glass bottle. Around here a gallon in a plastic jug at Kroger is about $2.00. Keep in mind milk is often priced as a "loss leader" to get people into the store..

GlenTheMachine 8y ago

I don't know where you're shopping. A gallon of milk this afternoon cost me $2.59.

markkanof 8y ago
A 1/2 gallon of organic whole milk at a grocery store in Portland, OR is 3.99 or 4.59 depending on if the store brand is available or not. Not disputing any of your knowledge of the industry, just adding another data point.

khuey 8y ago

Even in San Francisco a gallon of milk at Trader Joe's is under $3/gallon.

shagie 8y ago
There's some interesting mechanics in the milk subsidies. The original subsidy was based on the distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin ( http://icetronauts.tripod.com/milk.htm http://icetronauts.tripod.com/milk.htm ). > Under the system established in the 1930s, the farther a state was from Eau Claire, the higher were the federal price subsidies paid to its dairy farmers on milk sold for bottling. > For example, the maximum subsidy, or differential, paid to Wisconsin dairy farmers is $1.20 per 100 pounds of milk, while farmers in southern Florida are paid $4.18 per 100 pounds. California is even further away. The particulars of it are at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR.htm https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-97BR/html/G... It is still based in part on Eau Claire. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/08/what-does-boston-have-with-milk-prices-wisconsin-turns-out-lot/AUfXl8MXtCffhdw3PD79bJ/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/08/what-does-bo... Between water policy, oversupply during the Eau Claire Base Point and existing subsidies... California is a very odd place to produce milk and the cheap milk is a legacy of those policies. And the last spring and hot summer in Eau Claire ( http://www.aos.wisc.edu/%7Esco/clim-history/stations/eau/eau-gddu-2018.gif http://www.aos.wisc.edu/%7Esco/clim-history/stations/eau/eau... & https://madison.com/wsj/business/usda-wisconsin-milk-production-slows/article_51ca73f4-b466-5f2d-ab1b-8b08874643c0.html https://madison.com/wsj/business/usda-wisconsin-milk-product... ) will impact the price of milk there, along with the tariff spat with Canada... which in turn changes the amount of the subsidy across the country.

gnulinux 8y ago

I lived in both the Bay Area and Boston, two of most expensive areas in the US, a gallon of milk costs me less than $3. Trader Joe's is your friend. You can even get organic milk or non-dairy milk (soy, almond, coconut) for less than $6 a gallon.