Feds to probe low milk prices paid to NY farmers

The Associated Press

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 | 5:03 a.m.

A top antitrust investigator from the U.S. Justice Department is investigating why New York farmers are getting record low payments for milk and consumers are seeing just a fraction of the savings.

Sen. Charles Schumer is scheduled to announce the effort Sunday. It follows his request for a probe after his office released a report that found the price paid to dairy farmers fell by almost half since January. At the same time, the retail price of milk fell just 15 percent.

Christine Varney, the assistant attorney general in charge of the federal Antitrust Division, will meet with farmers in coming weeks to investigate potential anticompetitive behavior in the dairy production system.

Schumer says he wants to see greater transparency in how the market works.

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