There sure isn’t THAT much difference between what the farmers get for their raw milk at the dairy!
SOMETHING is being price fixed somewhere!!
https://hoards.com/article-12097-producer-prices-were-14-cents-from-the-record.html
Dairy is price fixed by the government and the price, which is set by your local dairy compact, is different from region to region.
There is also the price of energy for processing, the cost of energy for transportation, the wages of those who do the processing, the wages of those who do all the paperwork required by the state and the cost of the food grade resin that they use to blow the bottle.
That last is a big part of the cost of your milk. Anywhere from a third to a half.
Which is why buying milk as two half gallons will cost more then buying it by the gallon.
Now you know far more then you ever wanted to about the pricing of dairy.