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Published by the NFU in June 2010, the Great Milk Robbery outlined the dire straits in which UK dairy farmers found themselves; the report explained that rises in the wholesale prices of major dairy commodities since January 2009 (when prices paid to dairy producers began to fall) should have led to substantial increases in returns for dairy farmers, but had not.

However, dairy farmers in the UK are still under pressure from processors and supermarkets. In December, 6 months after the report was published, dairy farmers led by Farmers for Action launched a campaign of direct action against supermarkets in protest against their business practices. The latest developments in the USA show that the ‘dairy robbery’ could be a transatlantic issue, as reports reveal American dairy farmers suffering under similar conditions to their counterparts in the UK are beginning to organise.

Milk Processors accused of ‘uncompetitive practices’

Milk processors in the USA are being accused of uncompetitive practices such as conspiring to keep prices artificially low by buying and then closing milk processing plants. American Dairy farmers say as a result of these practices they are struggling to break even. John Kalmey, a dairy farmer from Tennessee claims, “There really hasn't been any competition for milk in the Southeast, which has resulted in prices that don't keep up with the cost of doing business. All of our expenses are going up pretty drastically; we’re working way too hard to be doing this as a hobby.”

Dennis Trissel, a director on the National Dairy Producers Organization based in Virginia, where statistics from the USDA show the number of dairy cows has reached a 50-year low, explains the invidious position of dairy farmers, "A lot of dairies here are not upgrading, not updating and when the young generation comes along they tend to leave. There's not the profits available; you can't pay for a dairy unless you've had some extremely good help."

National Dairy Producers Organization steps into the fray

As part of the National Dairy Producers Organization, Trissel has joined forces with dairy farmers representing farms of all sizes from across the country with the aim of securing better standards for American farmers. The organisation is positive about the effect they will have, “It's the first time in my life I think that I've ever had a group of people be proactive with what needs to be done to get the milk prices stable," Trissel told WHSV Radio on Sunday (13^th Feb).

The producers have said that stabilising prices will improve their ability to turn a profit, thus making the industry more appealing to young farmers. At a meeting in California last week, the organisation drew up a "Contract with Producers" which lists 20 points the farmers say must be addressed in order to stabilize dairy prices.

Farmers take Processors to Court

The National Dairy Producers Organisation contract comes at the same time as news that struggling dairy farmers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Indiana and other South-eastern states are organising a lawsuit against Dean Foods, the USA’s largest milk processor. The farmers say they believe that Dean and cooperatives that are the major buyers of their product work together to keep prices artificially low, partly by buying bottling plants and thereby limiting competition.

The accusations that Dean Foods and other processors seek to stifle competition are being echoed across the country. The U.S. Justice Department and the attorneys general of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois have recently filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Dean's purchase of regional milk plants has violated antitrust laws and in December Dean Foods offered to pay $30 million in December to settle a case similar to the South-eastern producers’ brought by North-eastern dairy farmers.