As of Jan. 1, the price paid to dairy farmers for milk dropped to an 11-year low.
The average price paid to California dairy farmers decreased to $1.04 per gallon, which is 15 cents lower than December’s price.
Production increases in California and throughout the nation have caused dairy product prices to tumble on national commodity exchanges since the end of August, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The January price is the minimum price that dairy processors must pay for milk received from dairy farmers. This price should not be confused with retail prices, which are not regulated by the CDFA, the department said.
The agency has begun to collect average retail milk price information, which will be posted on the Web site at (www.cdfa.ca.gov) on Jan. 21.
