Milk Money

A gripping and witty exploration of the economic forces that make it challenging for small dairy farms to survive.

The dairy business is at the heart of the culture and economy of Vermont, just as it is in many other states. That fact meant little to Kirk Kardashian until he started taking his daughter to daycare at a dairy farm a few miles from his Vermont home. The farm had been owned by the same family for generations but struggled to make ends meet in a market where retail milk prices have held steady for decades while the prices paid to farmers have plummeted. Suddenly, the abstractions of economics and commodities markets were replaced by the flesh and blood of a farm family whom he greeted every day.

In the tradition of Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, Kardashian asks whether it is right that family farmers in America should toil so hard, produce a food so wholesome and so popular, and still lose money. His investigation uncovers the hidden forces behind dairy farm consolidation and explains why milk-a staple subject to both government oversight and industry collusion-has proven so tricky to stabilize, even as scores of small dairy farms close. This new edition brings the story up to date, as farmers grapple with an ever-changing landscape that includes shifting consumer preferences, immigration issues, climate change, and bird flu.