Explanation of Farmer Benefits of the Proposed Connecticut Milk Pricing Laws Presented to Connecticut Farm Bureau Dairy Committee and Litchfield Dairy Committee Joint Meeting

Farmers want to know how this proposed law will benefit them. This briefing paper explains in a general fashion how the proposed law benefits farmers. Actual benefits from the law will depend critically on the detailed regulations that the Commission promulgates. Those details will include the price collar rates at wholesale and retail, the raw milk price that the wholesale collar is applied to (for example, we propose using the average price of raw milk used by processors for products: whole – 3.25%, 2%, 1% and skim), and any special allowances/exemptions for small retailers and the added cost of delivery to them. Understand, however, that the bulk of all fluid milk marketed in Southern New England is processed by three processors and marketed at retail by at most eight chains including convenience chains