Milk prices might rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a new farm bill today that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency, reported the New York Times. If Congress does not renew the Farm Bill today, the milk price formula reverts back to 1949, reported CBS Boston.

If the farm bill is not renewed the government will be forced to buy milk at inflated prices, driving up the cost for everyone. As customers demanded milk, markets would look to higher-priced overseas milk producers to make up the shortage, and prices could go up on everything from butter to yogurt to cheese.

Eventually, the government would sell off the milk surplus that it had built up, causing milk prices to plummet.

In the short term, consumers would be devastated and dairy producers would have a payday, after which consumers would get a break while dairy producers watched their profits crash and burn.