Milk prices paid to farmers have plunged to the lowest levels in nearly six years.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the price per hundred pounds of milk dropped to $10.72, down over $5 from January, and nearly $9 from a year ago.
The current price is the lowest it’s been since 2003.
Robert Wellington, a vice president of the dairy cooperative Agri-Mark, says demand for milk products has plunged in the global economic downturn. He says the country is now producing too much milk.
And officials predict prices are expected to drop further this spring.