SIOUXLAND -
A stalemate in Washington and a 60-year-old law could add up to a higher bill at the grocery store.
But it all could just be a "storm in a glass of milk."
Matt Schelling, a nearly life-long dairy farmer, knows a lot about milk cows.
But a standstill in Washington could be bad for business.
"It wouldn't be good," said Schelling, a board member with the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance.
Parts of the U.S. Farm Bill relating to dairy production are set to expire December 31st.
If that happens, a 60-year-old law could nearly double the price you pay for a gallon of milk.
"This is really a zombie law whose ideas are a full century old," said Marin Bozic, an Assistant Professor of Dairy Food Marketing Economics at the University of Minnesota.
If no Farm Bill's passed, a law from 1949 would go back into effect.
That means the government would be have to buy dairy at extremely high prices, essentially driving costs up.
"Fluid milk prices in retail stores would increase from an average of $3.30 to $5 per gallon," said Bozic.
Since the Farm Bill's not moving forward because of the stalemate over the "Fiscal Cliff," no one really knows if or when the situation will be remedied.
Bozic isn't worried though, he says milk buyers shouldn't worry, either. He doesn't expect prices to go up for months, if they go up at all.
"This is just a storm in a glass of milk," said Bozic.
Back on the farm those higher prices would be good for profits, but Schelling's worried folks might stop buying it.
The only thing he can do for now is wait for a Farm Bill.
"That's an unknown," said Schelling. "The 1949 law is so old that I really don't see that happening very easily or very quickly."
Bozic says even though the "Fiscal Cliff" and the Farm Bill aren't directly connected he thinks that when the "Fiscal Cliff" is worked out the Farm Bill won't be far behind.
