Latest News From Milk Prices

As the monetary worth of milk fat grows, so does the pay price for the per hundredweight of milk. But what number is more important for a dairy farm’s income – milk fat percentage or milk yield?

According to Jim Moriarty with Compeer Financial, not doing anything in terms of risk management can be the decision that could have the highest risk right now.

Class III gave up most of it’s early gains with spot cheese receding and a bearish September Milk Production Report.

Butter prices currently are near all-time highs, so it might seem an unlikely time for a butter-consuming craze to be lighting up social media. But that’s exactly what is happening with the advent of butter boards.

A 7% drop in Global Dairy Trade prices put pressure on U.S. markets.

Many farmers have not developed a marketing plan to protect milk prices. This leaves the farm open to risk and the possibility of significant financial loss which could put the farming operation in jeopardy.

Enrollment for the USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) is now open until Dec. 7, 2022. FSA administrator says this year showed why enrolling in DMC makes good business sense. 

Class III milk futures markets regained a very small portion of what was lost from Friday. 

Despite higher spot cheese prices, class III milk futures moved lower and may be potentially concerned after holiday demand season comes to an end.

Dairy finishes mixed Wednesday. Class III milk gained nearby with October up 6 cents to $21.85, November up 13 cents to $21.26 and December holding unchanged at $20.72.

Class III futures sold off quite viciously.

A shortage of fresh barrel cheese has been driving the inverted price spread.

Dan Basse was at World Dairy Expo for the live taping of U.S. Farm Report. He's been focused on the potentially tight supplies for nearly two years, but now he's turned more bearish and explains why.

Feed prices are obviously much higher than in years past and it’s going to be that way for some time to come.

Dairy Margin Coverage payments will be triggered under the Tier One category for the month of August.

Tom Vilsack celebrated the fact that we now have hit a historical milestone by reaching the highest dairy consumption in the U.S. Vilsack spoke talked about the importance dairy plays in feeding a growing population.

Dairy markets found follow through strength on Tuesday following the bounce experienced on Monday. 

Cheese and butter prices continue to hold a large price difference with butter around $1.00 higher than cheese. One reason for this is the substantial difference in inventory levels between cheese and butter.

Dairy markets, as did most commodity markets, performed well to kick off the week on Monday.

Class III milk futures were mixed on the day. October milk gained 9 cents to $21.94/cwt. November milk eased 20 cents to $20.72/cwt.

Milk powder imports hit particularly hard in part due to large current stockpiles

Class III milk jumped 56 cents in October pushing back to $21.85/cwt.

Patrons of Foremost Farms received a letter stating that changes will be made starting with the September milk payments to compensate for market adjustments. The cooperative also announced two plant closers.

The commodity markets, as a whole, on Monday continued to sell off.  Class III and IV futures were unfortunately caught up in that softer trade as well. 

Class III milk futures hold steady in September, but October and November prices fall flat.

The U.S. lost 6% of its dairy farms in 2021 and now has fewer than 30,000 farms. According to Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, as of January 1, the Beaver State has 171 Grade A licensed dairy farms.

The August USDA Cold Storage report was released Thursday afternoon. Total cheese stocks came in at 1.483 billion lbs which was slightly below analysts' expectations.

The nightmare for any dairy producer is to receive notification that they are losing their milk market. Securing a new milk market at the last minute certainly is easier said than done and often turns into crisis mode.

The August Milk Production report outlines U.S. milk production is up a modest 1.6% over August 2021. Even so, cow numbers declined 11,000 head from a year ago, but increased by 8,000 head from July 2022.

Global Dairy Trade event #316 took place Tuesday. The index settled 2% higher for the second auction in a row.

According to the latest All-Milk price forecast, economists expect the dairy market to strengthen in the coming year.

Food prices have risen substantially causing consumers to look for ways to stretch their dollar. Dairy products will remain an integral part of the diet, but the volume of purchases might be reduced.

The USDA released its August Milk Production report on Monday. As expected, milk production grew, but at levels that exceeded expectations.

The CME spot dairy trade ended with mixed results on Friday.

As consumers return to pre-pandemic habits and prices soar, demand for butter falters

The terms profitability and cash flow are often used interchangeably. However, confusion between the two can cause producers to make decisions that are not in their best long-term profit interests.

Most dairy products climbed higher Tuesday in the CME spot dairy product auction.

Class III milk markets watched October jump $0.74/cwt to $21.68. 

With the holiday baking season knocking on consumers doors, just how long will these elevated butter prices last?

Class III milk rocketed higher though September stayed unchanged at $19.79.

Members of the Grow NY Farms Coalition explained how the Farm Laborers Wage Board report downplays important testimony and data from workers, farmers and researchers from Cornell University.

Dairy products were mixed in the CME spot dairy product auction on Thursday.

The stress of owning and operating a dairy farm is enormous. And, as harvest nears, additional stress looms for many farmers. OSHA is urging employers to actively promote available resources to all workers.

Butter had a good day as it moves to levels we have not visited since September of 2015!

Compared to a year ago, dairy product values are up considerably. Unfortunately, feed costs continue to surge upward as well.

Class III milk futures ended the trading day mixed. October milk added 3 cents to $19.97/cwt. November milk fell 9 cents to $20.60/cwt.

Even with strong export demand and overall domestic demand holding well, there is still too much cheese.

Futures markets added 16 to 45 cents in the 2022 months while 2023 saw Q1 gain 23-30 cents.

Class III milk futures were lower out of the gate today and never recovered.

July’s all-milk price fell to $25.70, a $1.20 decrease from June. The income over feed costs, as calculated by Dairy Margin Coverage was $9.92, $2.00/cwt. less than June.