Holy cow, milk is on the rise

Got milk?

If so, you probably paid a lot for it.

Customers at local groceries have experienced sticker shock, with whole milk costing as much as $4 a gallon.

"I just have to deal with the prices," said Kevin Kane of Raleigh. "I don't have a cow in my backyard."

The International Dairy Foods Association said the price of nonfat dry milk rose about 30 percent over the past six months.

And milk prices are expected to increase as much as 30 cents a gallon over the summer.

Kane said to offset the rising prices, he is simply buying less of other dairy products, such as cheese. All dairy products, including sour cream, cottage cheese and ice cream, have been steadily increasing in price.

Amanda Warnke, a Raleigh mother of 2-year-old twins, said that she can't cut back on buying milk for her family, but she does shop around for the best price.

She said she has stopped buying milk at Harris Teeter, where the store-brand 2 percent variety was $3.99 a gallon Friday.

"That's would be $12 a month," Warnke said. "That's just too much." Instead, Warnke said she buys milk at BJ's Wholesale, where a gallon of whole milk was $2.66 Friday.

At Food Lion on Capital Boulevard, a gallon of the store-brand 2 percent was $3.99.

Food Lion spokeswoman Karen Peterson said the company had seen price fluctuations recently and expected the price to go up later this year, but could not say by how much.

There are a number of reasons for the sharp increases in price.

The dairy foods association blamed strong international demand for U.S. dairy products, coupled with higher corn and soybean prices.

There is more demand for corn to produce ethanol as an alternative fuel, which is causing a shortage of corn and raising feed costs. Feed is the largest operational cost for dairy farmers, the association said.

Rising production costs have led some farmers to stop producing milk, which has further restricted supplies.

Demand for dairy products shows no signs of slowing down. The association expects global demand for dairy products to grow 2.7 percent annually during the next 10 years.

But there are ways shoppers can get around the high prices said Faye Prosser, owner of Smart Spending Resources in Clayton. "There are a number of warehouse clubs that sell milk for $2.29 to $2.79 a gallon on a regular basis," Prosser said.

She also suggested buying milk on sale and then storing up. She freezes milk.

Milk can be safely frozen for three weeks to a month and then thawed in the refrigerator. It might need to be stirred and could spoil more quickly after thawing.

Another good way to save is to shop for milk on clearance. "You can find a good deal on milk at places like Lowes Food when it gets close to the expiration date," she said.