Got parity?

From the Heartland, Margot McMillen writes: Part of the Fiscal Cliff solution--or was it the Fiscal Bluff?--is to renew the old farm bill for 9 months rather than write a new one. OK, that's not really a solution, but it's what happened. And part of the old farm bill that needs change NOW is the piece to keep dairy farms in business. As it is, dairy farmers sell to big corporations like Dean Foods or International Dairy Foods Association. That means that big corporate trucks come to the farm or to a dropoff point and load up with the milk from several farms. All the milk is processed in one place, see? That keeps consumer prices stable, but puts farmers in a position of taking the price they're offered. Trouble is, dairy farmers are getting paid less than they're putting out in feed, water, equipment and so forth. If they got paid enough to cover their bills plus a little profit, a formula called "parity," they'd be happy. But the big guys don't really care if the farmers make money. They'd be just as happy using instant milk from China, or even whipping up some milk-like product from a vat of chemicals, like this product called "Muscle Milk" that's in the case now. So let's hope consumers get a clue before all the dairies are gone. We need to give dairy farms a fair price and keep milk production in the U.S.