The following appeared in a letter to the editor of a Batavia newspaper The department of agriculture in Batavia reports that the number of dairy farms throughout the country is now 25 percent greater than it was 10 years ago During this same time period

Answer – In the above letter, the author argues about maintaining the fair price of milk for the consumers. The author supports his proposal on the basis of the increased market price of milk over the past 10 years. The author argues that they should impede farmers from being lucrative by imposing regulatory rules. However, before evaluating the author’s argument three questions need to be answered.
Firstly, the author argues that since the number of dairy farms throughout the country are now increased than before so the farmers are already in a profitable position. A reader may ask the question is it okay to determine something based on only a percentage? A percentage is a tricky number, without the absolute value, one can not determine anything based on the percentage of something. There is a possibility that maybe 10 years ago there are only 1000 dairy farms in the country. After 10 years, there are 1250 dairy farms throughout the entire country. If the above scenario is true then, one can not derive any conclusion about the diary condition of the country. The author does not give any persuasive information regarding the condition of dairy farms 10 years ago. Without the absolute number, one can not tell anything about the farmers whether they are being lucrative or not. If the author can provide the previous condition of the dairy farms of the country, then a reader may find the author’s argument more warranted.
Secondly, is it viable to draw conclusion about the financial condition of the farmers based upon the selling price of a product? In other words, the author argues that the farmers are being too profitable since their selling price of the milk increased from 1.50 dollar to 3.00 dollar. There is a possibility that additional cost of producing milk over the past 5 years have increased from .5 dollar to 3.00 dollar. Then one can not be lucrative if they sell the milk at 3.00 dollar per gallon. If the above scenario is true then the author’s suggestion is built unreliably. If, the author can provide necessitate information perhaps in the form of a statistical data chart of the additional expenses of producing milk then, one can understand the viability of author’s suggestion to certain extent.
Thirdly, Is it okay to using a circumstances from one thing to predict and generalise the other? The author supports his argument that , the farmers are being lucrative on the basis of a increased milk price in Excello Market. There is a possibility that may be in other market the milk price is 2.00 dollar. Even if this is not a case, there is a possibility that people may not prefer to purchase milk from the Excello market. If, any of the above scenarios is true, then author’s suggestion holds no water. If, the author is able to provide additional information about the Excello market , such as the number of the daily customers of the market, then the author’s suggestion may have sounded warranted.

In the conclusion, the author’s argument , as it stands now is considerably flawed due to several unstated assumptions. If the author is able answer three questions above and offer more evidence (perhaps in the form of systematic research study) then, it will be possible to evaluate the viability of the author’s proposed recommendation that Batavia Government should regulate milk process.