United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-06-15 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-01-561 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-561 P0b002ee18037a779 f:d01561 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-561 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-561 GAO-01-561 Dairy industry Dairy products Marketing Prices and pricing Other Written Product A01023 Each year about 7 billion gallons of fluid drinking milk are produced in the United States yielding approximately $22 billion in annual retail sales. Farmers, cooperatives, wholesale milk processors, and retailers participate in the process of moving milk from the dairy farm to the consumer. Each of these entities performs a distinct function in the production, processing, distribution, and sale of milk and each receives a portion of the retail price of a gallon of milk for the functions they perform. Recently, fluid milk prices at the farm-level have fallen sharply, prompting Congress to authorize almost a billion dollars in the past three years of emergency assistance to dairy farmers to help mitigate the effects of low farm-level milk prices. At the same time, fluid milk prices at the retail level have not experienced a similar decline. Consequently, the growing price spread between farm and retail milk prices has raised concerns. This report examines (1) factors that influence the price of milk as it moves from the farm to the consumer, (2) the proportionate breakdown of the retail price of a gallon of milk received by farmers, cooperatives, wholesale milk processors, and retailers, (3) how changes in farm and retail milk prices affect the farm-to-retail milk price spread, (4) how price changes at any level of the marketing chain relate to changes in price at other levels, and (5) the retail prices of the four types of fluid milk--whole, 2-percent (or reduced fat), 1-percent (or low-fat), and skim (or fat-free)--in selected markets. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-561/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-561.htm GAO-01-561 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-561 Other Written Product GAO-01-561; Dairy Industry: Information on Milk Prices and Changing Market Structure; Dairy industry Dairy products Marketing Prices and pricing