Higher Milk Prices Help Offset Skyrocketing Cost Of Feed

Milk prices hit an all-time in March and April this year.

That's some relief for California dairy farmers, who saw their industry shrink from 2,100 to 1,500 farms in the last five years because of low prices and high production costs.

Lodi dairy farmer and San Joaquin Farm Bureau President Jack Hamm says what farmers have to worry about now is the skyrocketing cost of feed that is cutting into their profits.

"Our winter feeds that usually come with the rain and then we harvest them after the rain, we didn't get any rain so we're very short of foraging in California so that's driven the prices way up, it's really expensive to feed the cattle right now," says Hamm.

Hamm says international demand for dairy products has pushed up the price of milk to more than double what it was five years ago. 

He says thinks feed prices may hit their peak. But Hamm says, come September some farmers may try to stock up feed for the winter and that could see another bump up in the price.