New York dairy farmers say lack of competition among milk buyers is hurting their industry

At the New York state stop of a nationwide tour of Justice Department officials to hear complaints about antitrust issues in the agriculture industry, farmers placed much of the blame for the dairy crisis at the feet of milk processors. At a meeting in Batavia attended by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Christine A. Varney, the Obama administration's top antitrust investigator, farmers pointed to the growing gap between prices consumers pay for milk at the market and the price they are paid by the milk processors as the main reason for dairy industry trouble, Phil Fairbanks of The Buffalo News reports.

"Our farmers are getting paid less and consumers are paying more," Sen. Charles E. Schumer said at the meeting. "Someone's walking away with all the money." Varney, a Syracuse native, mostly listened to the farmers' complaints, but at one point assured them the administration "will not let you down. We know the problem you're facing." Farmers said a consolidation of milk processors has led to a lack of competition for the milk being produced in upstate New York. "It's a disaster," Schumer said, "not only for the our farmers but for our rural communities." (Read more)