Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson sent a letter to grocery retailers across the state this week urging them to discontinue imposing limits on the quantity of milk that consumers are allowed to purchase.
The letter was written in response to dairy farmers having to dump their milk due to an oversupply.
At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis as consumers began making preparations for staying at home by stocking up on groceries, many stores began limiting the amount of milk that shoppers were allowed to purchase. Although this increased the demand for milk at the time, the supply of milk remained strong with no shortage.
The purchasing limitation, coupled with the impact from the loss of markets for milk due to school and restaurant closures, has led to an oversupply of milk. Milk processors are not capable of processing the excess supply leading many farmers with no choice but to dump their milk.
“I have reached out to the managers of grocery retailers across the state urging them to support our dairy industry by removing limitations on how much milk shoppers can purchase,” said Gipson. “There is no shortage of milk.”
