Dairy Report: Profit Margins Continue to Look Bleak
Dairy Report 081523
Milk prices have improved slightly, but dairy producers are facing difficult margins. And it could stay that way for a while.
Class III fluid milk contracts are above $17 per cwt. now and over $18 per cwt. in the deferred. However, market analysts say there still hasn’t been enough liquidation in the U.S. herd to expect a bigger boost in price.
“When you look ahead, things are not all that rosy,” says Bryan Doherty with Total Farm Marketing. “It’s been a pretty tough run, so we expect that we’ll see cow numbers decline slowly, maybe more aggressively into August and September time windows as farmers get a look at what they have in terms of [new] silage.”
The USDA lowered milk production forecasts for 2023 and 2024 in the latest supply and demand report.
Cow Cuddling for College Students
A dairy at one university has turned into a place of comfort. Michigan State University’s dairy has opened its doors this past spring, inviting students to come by and pet the cows and calves. Organizers of the event did this to help students process a recent mass shooting on the campus. They say the first two outreach events hosted about 800 people.
Leaders say the gentle giants of the dairy had a positive effect on many people, saying people who just brushed a cow for an hour would tell them they felt more at peace. The MSU dairy in East Lansing is home to more than 250 cows.
