Market Demand For Dairy Products

How will the U.S. dairy industry look under deregulation? How has California become the nation's leading dairy producer? Why have consumers preferred the real thing over artificial dairy products? This book will help readers make sense of the American dairy business, whose complexities and eccentricities so often seem to defy understanding. On the brink of far-reaching changes in federal dairy policy, it gives a much-needed account of how market forces and government intervention drive the most regulated and complicated agricultural industry in the United States. The first comprehensive book on the topic,Marketing and Pricing of Milk and Dairy Products in the U.S. considers every aspect of this complicated puzzle. Looking at dairy products from milk and yogurt to butter, cheese, and ice cream, it explains supply and demand, dairy cooperatives, federal milk marketing orders and price supports, local and state regulations, and international trade. Finally, in a clear and compelling manner, the author proposes reforms that would benefit the dairy industry, especially a move toward less regulation.

All over the world, governments play a part in the milk business for compelling economic reasons and not, as many assert, just because dairy farmers are numerous and organized. This book examines the role of federal, state, and local governments in the dairy economy of the United States, where major public involvement in industry began during the Great Depression. Dr. Manchester considers the conditions in the 1930s that led to government involvement, the changes that have occurred in the industry and the public role since then, and the prospects for the 1980s and beyond. He also analyzes possible alternative public dairy policies for the present and the rest of the decade. Many things have changed, points out Dr. Manchester, but the fundamental conditions that led to public involvement in the dairy industry still exist.