US dairy farmers large and small from all over the country urged federal regulators Friday (Jun 25) to investigate their industry and help determine why the prices that they are paid for milk are not keeping pace with what consumers are charged at the store.

That united position, which comes among sinking dairy prices and increasing costs, was not there a year ago and speaks to the depths of the problem, said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The departments of Agriculture and Justice (DOJ) organised the hearing that attracted more than 500 farmers, lobbyists, politicians and others.

"The crisis is moving people to consensus," Vilsack said. It was the third of five hearings jointly called by the USDA and DOJ to investigate antitrust and regulatory issues in agriculture. Friday's meeting focused on the dairy industry, which brings in US$26 billion a year to Wisconsin.

Most complained that the market lacks transparency and farmers do not have the power they used to.

The problem rests with the complex system in which milk prices are determined at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, some farmers said, urging the regulators to investigate that system.

The federal government's antitrust investigators tried to reassure farmers that the agency was keeping a "watchful eye" on the dairy industry.