Good news for the American Dairy Farmer, bad news for you: Milk prices are hitting record highs and there’s no end in sight as increased demand from new markets such as China and India drive prices through the roof.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Reasons include growing appetites for dairy foods in China and elsewhere in Asia where fast-food and coffee chains are introducing taste buds to cheeseburgers and lattes, as well as rising costs for animal feed and shrinking European stocks.

Paying more for milk, a source of nutrients such as calcium, is causing an uproar in Germany and other countries where many families consider providing children with an affordable glass of milk a fundamental right. Prices are likely to remain high until dairy farmers add more cows or shift production to powders, more easily traded than the liquid stuff.

Milk prices in the U.S. hit a record high in July, according to the Agriculture Department, which forecasts that prices will stay high throughout the year.
…
In China, milk consumption has soared along with rising incomes, a massive expansion of the dairy industry and the increasing familiarity with, and taste for, non-native foods among young urbanites. The Dairy Association of China estimates consumption will rise by 15 percent to 20 percent annually in coming years.

Not much you can do about it, other than drink less milk or perhaps freeze your cheese?

(Full Disclosure: We don’t really drink milk, so we’re afraid we have a lack of helpful advice on the topic. We do know that milk doesn’t freeze particularly well and tastes all gross when you thaw it out, because our parents used to do this and, consequently, we now hate the taste of milk and refuse to drink it.)

Let’s open this one back up for discussion: How do you save money on milk, butter and cheese?

Milk prices hitting records as richer Asia acquires taste [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo:spirit635)

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