Free Press Staff Report

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has called on executives of the region's leading milk processor to meet with Vermont dairy farmers "to discuss how we might work together to ensure that dairy farmers in Vermont receive a fair price for their product and are able to stay in business."
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Sanders extended the invitation in a letter to Dean Foods CEO Gregg L. Engles on Monday and said dairy farmers cannot survive on the "disastrously low prices" they are now receiving.

"The dairy industry has been, and remains, a vital part of Vermont's economic engine and a central part of the fabric of our communities," Sanders wrote. "All Vermonters understand that if family-based dairy farming is to continue in any significant way in our state and throughout the country, America's dairy farmers must receive fair prices for the products they produce."

Sanders' office said Dean processes and markets several popular brands and sells processed milk to leading retailers such as Wal-Mart Supercenters, Sam's Club, Giant, and Stop & Shop. Sanders said Dean Foods controls approximately 70 percent of the dairy market in New England.

"I believe that it is both your responsibility and in your best interest to ensure that America's family dairy farms continue to thrive," Sanders said in the letter.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the All Milk Price paid to dairy farmers dropped over the last year from $19.30 a hundredweight to $11.40 a hundredweight, or 11.6 gallons of milk.

The drop in prices paid to farmers has not coincided with a drop in prices for consumers. While New England dairy farmers receive just $1 per gallon of milk, Americans are paying on average $3.01 per gallon at their local store, Sanders said.