Milk prices could skyrocket without action by Congress, Casey says

PITTSBURGH — Without congressional action by year‘s end on a new farm bill, consumers could be forced to pay $6 to $8 for a gallon of milk, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said Friday.

Lawmakers are running out of time to avoid sending the nation‘s agriculture policy back to a 1940s law that could lead to steep price increases, said Casey, who plans to call for the House to adopt a new bill to avoid price hikes. The Senate has passed a bill.

Without a change, he said, the Department of Agriculture will have to buy milk at inflated costs that will escalate prices at grocery stores.

In Western Pennsylvania, the minimum retail price for a gallon of regular milk is set at $3.95 for January, according to Pennsylvania‘s Milk Marketing Board.

This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

WPXI