Author of this post Alex Rindler is a policy associate with the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organization working toward protecting public health and the environment. EWG’s blog site can be found at: http://www.ewg.org/agmag/ California’s $8 billion dairy industry is in crisis in large part because corn prices have risen 60 percent since June. Animal feed now accounts for more than 70 percent of farmers’ total dairy operating costs, according to California Dairies, Inc., the state’s leading dairy processing cooperative.