Monday, April 18, 2011

Northeast Milk Supply/Dean Settlement

To hear the DFA conditioned farmers tell it, there is so, so much milk in the Northeast that if they cannot get it into the Dean plants involved in the NE settlement, they will get less money.

Here are a couple stories:

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1798429123/Chenango-Co-s-Chobani-yogurt-hopes-to-be-No-1-yogurt-soon



http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1274023574/Yogurt-plants-boost-state-s-dairy-industry

But Chobani has expanded so rapidly that dairy farmers haven’t been able to grow the size of their herds as fast as the company needs, Ulukaya said.

“The demand is so high that it comes from every corner of the state,” Ulukaya said, of the milk. “Yet, we need more.”

The need for milk is a major reason why Ulukaya doesn’t know whether he will expand in this state or another, he said. The Chenango County plant will stay in place either way, but he has been in discussion with state farmers about whether they can handle further expansion by Chobani, he said.


According to sources, DFA/DMS has a full supply agreement with Chobani. Obviously, they cannot supply the Chobani plant.

However, DFA's ploy really has nothing to do with supply, but rather, with trying to disrupt class certification in the class action lawsuit. Without class certification there is no suit.

6 comments:

  1. And its coming out of Ohio and Pennsylvania because dfa can't get enough NY milk. Even though NY milk is being displaced south by Canadian milk coming into St Albans and the Stueben plant in Buffalo is being filled with Michigan milk. But yes we have so,so much excess milk in NY.If drinking milk were being properly promoted we would have to bring it in from Idaho because there is not enough here.

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  2. The Department of Justice should've have brought charges against Gary Hanman and sent him to jail like Bernie Madoff. Maybe then DFA would get the message that corruption will not be tolerated in this industry.
    Oh but wait, Bernie ripped off the wealthy/powerful while Gary just ripped off dairy farmers.

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  3. Speaking of Madoff, an interesting turn of events has occurred. The firm that now represents the Plaintiff-Dairy Farmers in the Southeast Antitrust Case is Baker & Hostetler, who also just happens to represent the victims in the Madoff case. Following Howrey's dissolution earlier this spring, the team of attorneys who have represented dairymen from the beginning landed at Baker. Could this be a bad thing, or a really good thing? Guess it depends on how you look at it.

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  4. To anonymous #1 above... plenty of NY milk also is coming into PA (for packaged fluid sales to at least two chains I know of that preach local PA... I might add). It's a game. They move it around... back-haul it... collect the premiums and flatten the price.

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  5. I agree and as in any game there are winners and losers. When we are the only ones playing by the rules it is obvious why we are the losers.

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  6. why not open one in Minnesota our farmers need help

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