Paying to Play: Supply Management in Montana's Dairy Industry

• Main Author: Ginsburg, Laura
• Other Authors: Neva Hassanein
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Montana 2013
• Subjects: Environmental Studies
• Online Access: http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-06122013-145255/

Montanas dairy industry is unique among US states because of its supply management program, which allocates quota to limit how much fluid milk can be produced and sold within the state. The amount of quota is set and price varies with market conditions; therefore, quota adds to a farms production costs. This paper presents findings from in-depth interviews with 17 dairy farmers to learn how quota has affected on-farm decision-making and how they perceive the impacts of quota on the statewide industry. Farmers tend to be spilt between those who think it affected their on-farm decisions and those who felt that other factors had greater impact. Farmers perceive effects such as supply stagnation, increased expenses, industry protection from other states, and possibly stabilizing the price of milk. The qualitative approach used here differs from past research in other nations, which typically focused on the financial implications of supply management.