Book dossier

Milk money

by Kirk Kardashian

Retail milk prices have stayed the same while milk prices paid to farmers have plummeted. The dairy business is at the heart of the culture and economy of Vermont and many other states. Kirk Kardashian asks whether it is right that family farmers in America should toil so hard, produce a food so wholesome and so popular, and still lose money. His investigation uncovers the hidden forces behind dairy farm consolidation and asks why milk -- a staple commodity subject to both government oversight and industry collusion -- has proven so tricky to stabilize. Meanwhile, every year we continue to lose scores of small dairy farms.