Sanders seeks antitrust investigation of dairy foods company

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(Host) Senator Bernie Sanders says one company controls too much of the regional dairy industry and he wants the federal government to investigate.

Sanders says the concentration of dairy processors could be contributing to a growing economic crisis on farms across the state.

VPR’s Ross Sneyd reports.

(Sneyd) Senator Sanders met in the past week with the head of the U-S Justice Department’s anti-trust division.

He says he wants an investigation into why one company, Dean Foods, controls 70 percent of the dairy processing business in New England.

(Sanders) "So you have a situation where milk prices are plummeting, farmers have seen a very significant reduction in the price that they’re getting, at the same time that the processor, Dean Foods, has seen a huge increase in their profits. I don’t think it takes Sherlock Holmes to figure out that there’s a connection between the two."

(Sneyd) Dairy farmers are getting paid around $11 for every hundred pounds of milk they produce.

Agriculture officials say that’s about $6 or $8 less than what it costs to produce that amount of milk.

Sanders complains that at the same time, Dean Foods is earning handsome profits – $80 million in the first quarter, a 150 percent increase from the year before.

Deans Foods owns brands such as Garelick Farms in New England.

Spokesmen said the company was working on a statement responding to Sanders.

Sanders says the larger economic questions facing the dairy industry have grown increasingly grave as farmers struggle to survive with such low prices.

(Sanders) "The bottom line is dairy farmers are going out of business, our whole economy is suffering. In my view, from a food security point of view, above and beyond the needs of dairy farmers, it is absolutely imperative that we continue to have decentralized form of agriculture in America where you have family farmers producing good quality, locally produced food.

(Sneyd) Sanders says he met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to talk about ways the federal government can help.

Sanders suggested adjusting the federal floor price for milk, boosting federal purchases and international exports of dairy powder. He also wants the Agriculture Department to buy more hamburger to help inflate the price for farmers who cull part of their herd.

And the entire Vermont congressional delegation is trying to push for higher prices in the "Milk Income Loss Contract" program, which is supposed to help even out wide swings in prices.

For VPR News, I’m Ross Sneyd.

(Host) Officials with Dean Foods issued a brief statement responding to Senator Sanders. The company says the U.S. Agriculture Department plays a large role in setting prices. And it says the current supply and demand is depressing prices.

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