Local Dairy Farmer & Consumers Concerned About Possibility of Higher Milk Prices

December 28, 2012 - If Congress doesn't act fast, local dairy farmers and consumers could see a jump in the price of a gallon of milk.

    A 24/7, 365 day work schedule and more than three hundred cows is not just a career for Randy Meabon and his wife.

"It's more of a way of life," Meabon said. "Especially the way we do it in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is fifth in milk production with more than 5,000 producers."

    Now with the possibility of a gallon of milk jumping to six to eight dollars a gallon, Meabon is worried about his future.

    Senator Bob Casey Jr. is calling on the House to take action because if the farm bill is not renewed, Senator Casey says the Department of Agriculture will have to revert back to policies set in the 1940s.

"Imagine paying $6.50 a gallon or so or even higher," said Senator Casey. "Tha'ts what would happen if the Republican leadership in the House doesn't put forward the Farm Bill that we passed in the Senate with Republican and Democratic votes."

If Congress doesn't act by January 1^st, it could greatly affect Green Meadow Farms in Wattsburg.

"We just want cost of living plus a profit just like anyone else does," Meabon said. "Because we need consumers and without consumers being a part of us we're dead in the water too, so we want everybody to make a living."

    The House is expected to return on Sunday.

    Senator Casey is hopeful they will make a decision.