This can also be seen as a tremendous blessing to those who produce milk locally (oranically-grassfed-or at least small family farms.) There was a day when travel was costly (time) and not practical, so these kinds of staples were commonly purchased locally.

Also, to add my two cents to the belief that ethanol production is raising the coast of corn: In the larger market there is additional coast if directly relating to the obvious increase in the cost of corn (currently around $3.40 bushel locally). However, the ethanol industry is actually very effecient in that while producing the alcohol it is making a more perfect by-product of usable feed for livestock. Cargill locally adds vitamins and minerals and sells it as Sweetbran by the semi truck-load to producers. Again, the smaller producer is likely utilizing the grass-fed option.