How much money does a farmer get for a gallon of milk?

Question

How much money does a farmer get for a gallon of milk?

Answer 1

I would guess around 40-60 % of what we pay.

Answer 2

I do not have exact figures, but the range has been between $7-$14 per cartweight (100 pounds) for the last 7 years (since about 2000).  Anything below $10 was generally unprofitable for the dairy producers I consulted.  With the increased cost of feed (corn, soybean meal, etc) I expect that threshold price has increased quite a bit.

Again, the density of milk varies, (varies with temperature, fat content, milk solids, etc) but using a density of 8.6 pounds per gallon and a value of $13/cwt, a farmer should receive $1.118 a gallon for his efforts.  The bigger question becomes, what does it cost the most efficient 25% of milk producers to produce a gallon of milk?

Answer 3

You recieved a good answer from Texas R.  A general rule of thumb is that for every dollar (in the U.S.A.) that you spend on a grocery item, the farmer is reciving six cents of that dollar.  

That number comes from the Department of Ag.  That's why buying directly from the farmer is so very important to the financial health of the farmers.  The middle men suck up all the profits.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 4

Okay i'm from Australia...

Here with our main milk co-op (Muarry Goulburn) we get around 46 cents per litre, plus around 5 to 6 cents extra for so much protein and fat.

Answer 5

Currently about $16 per hundredweight (100 pounds of milk). A gallon of milk weighs about 8.6 pounds (depending on fat content, mostly).

16 / 100 x 8.6 = $1.37

I'm paying $3.95 a gallon for milk now, so the farmer is getting less than 35% of every dollar spent on milk. Meanwhile, fuel and feed costs are rising.