41.   Proponents say the rules stabilize milk prices, thereby assuring reliable supplies across the country.

42.   Senators also failed to break a filibuster on a bill that would extend the Northeast Dairy Compact, which lets farmers set milk prices, by another year.

43.   Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont has called for a study of how consolidation affects milk prices.

44.   That caused both cheese and milk prices to fall, critics say.

45.   The Agriculture Department takes steps to boost milk prices by creating scarcity in the processed cheese market.

46.   The bill creates a compact among Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to raise milk prices above federal levels.

47.   The bill in question would let dairy farmers in Vermont and other Northeastern states join a federally sanctioned dairy cartel that can set higher milk prices for farmers.

48.   The compromise would seek to make milk prices more uniform across the country and phase out guaranteed price supports.

49.   The compact has already altered its rules in response to criticism that higher milk prices hurt those who can least afford it.

50.   The days of predictable milk prices may be gone for good.