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Unless Congress takes a moment off of Fiscal Cliff deliberations to deal with the Farm Bill the price of milk could double. Those in the industry are calling it the 'Dairy Cliff' and dairy farmers aren't happy about the lack of action.
The way current law is written, if a new bill, or an extension of the old one, isn't passed by the end of the year a 1949 law goes back into effect. That would force the government to buy milk at twice the price it's selling for today and drive up the cost for everyone.
While dairy farmers say they could use the temporary boost higher prices would bring, they're confident Congress will act before time runs out. A hike in prices would also raise what the government pays for things like the Food Stamp and WIC programs.
"Are we really looking at $7 milk or not? And I think it's... the chances of that are so small that if I was a consumer I wouldn't go out on the thirtieth and make a run on the grocery store," said dairy farmer Dave Lane.
Farm subsidies, like the dairy subsidy, go back to farmer strikes during the Great Depression over low prices and attempts to stabilize food production in the United States.
One solution Congress is discussing is attaching a Farm Bill extension to Fiscal Cliff legislation--if a compromise is reached in time.