BATAVIA — Dairy farmers from across upstate took their complaints about lack of

competition and disparity in milk prices Monday to the federal government's top antitrust

prosecutor.

Christine A. Varney, the Assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust

Division, listened as farmers from Gasport to Saratoga warned of an industry on the verge of

collapse.

"We want and need to be able to control our family farm's destiny," Jeremy Verratti, a

dairy farmer in Gasport, said during a meeting at Genesee Community College. "We want to stay

dairy farmers and we want to stay in Gasport."

To hear Verratti and dozens of others talk, the dairy farm crisis is rooted in the growing

disparity between the prices paid to farmers and the prices paid by consumers.

The blame, farmers told Varney, belongs with milk processors — the so-called middle

men — and the nation's large retailers.

"Our farmers are getting paid less and consumers are paying more," said Sen. Charles E.

Schumer, who invited Varney the meeting. "Someone's walking away with all the money."

Schumer said processors are making record profits at a time when farmers are on the brink

of losing their family businesses. He wants the Justice Department to investigate anti-

competitive practices in the dairy industry.

Varney, a Syracuse native, spent most of her time listening but, at one point, made it

clear that the government is aware of the dairy crisis and the reasons behind it.

"We will not let you down," she said. "We know the problem you're facing."

Varney's visit was just one stop on a nationwide tour that includes Vermont, Iowa and

Wisconsin, all major milk-producing states.

About 25 dairy farmers and industry officials spoke for more than three hours during the

meeting and almost all of them were united in their criticism of milk processors.

"Like David and Goliath, the family farm is at a competitive disadvantage," said Jonathan

Taylor, a Genesee County farmer and a representative of the New York Farm Bureau.

Taylor said the consolidation of milk processors has created a lack of competition for the

milk being produced by upstate farmers.

Jeff True, the owner of a sixth-generation family farm in Wyoming County, cited figures

from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in making his case that the average farmer is getting

shortchanged.

Those figures indicate the farmer's share of the retail dollar for milk dropped from 37

percent three years ago to 25 percent last year.

"Bottom line," True said, "dairy farmers don't control this part of the equation."

Edgar King, who runs a 900-cow family farm in Saratoga County, put it even more bluntly. He

said the current marketplace for dairy products rewards retailers and processors and turns

farmers into "bottom feeders."

Schumer said Varney's presence at Monday's forum is proof that the Justice Department is

serious about investigating the anti-competitive nature of the industry. And he singled out

large processors as the biggest culprit.

"It's a disaster," he said of the current pricing structure, "not only for the our farmers

but for our rural communities."

The Brooklyn Democrat joked at one point that there are no dairy farms in his neighborhood

but then added that consumers there feel the effects — ever-rising milk prices.

"They thwart competition," Schumer said of the nation's large milk processors, "and both

the farmer and consumer suffers."