Latest News From Milk Marketing

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.

It was a mixed bag in the CME dairy product trade. Block cheese and barrel cheese fell, while butter gained. Class III milk futures tumbled lower on the day.

Tuesday’s spot dairy product session was higher and Class III milk futures surge forward.

Markets can be driven by trader psychology for a period of time and can result in prices being overdone to one side or the other. In the end, fundamentals rule. Recent reports may indicate the market may see a change.

Will the dairy industry see an overhaul of the Federal Milk Marketing Orders?

Global Dairy Trade event 304 concluded on Tuesday with the overall price index down 0.9%.

Ten for ten, USDA’s ag Prices report announced yesterday afternoon that the October 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage income over feed costs resulted in $8.77/cwt.

Risk management should not be viewed as a way to make money, but rather a way to protect income.

After working with dairy producers for nearly two decades, Dr. Kevin Hoogendoorn was alarmed and frustrated by the complexity of milk marketing tools. So, he decided to do something about it by creating the ZISKapp.

As we reach the one-year mark of when most lockdowns began, all eyes will be on consumer behavior as we look forward to a post-vaccine reality and emerge from varying degrees of isolation.

In 2019, nearly 84% of U.S. dairy producers were enrolled in DMC.

It has been a difficult year for marketing especially in light of the large negative Producer Price Differentials making it hard to know exactly what you are protecting. Some strategies work better than others.

Enrollment for Dairy Margin Coverage program for 2021 ends Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. 

Make mental health a priority for your team

It doesn’t have to be difficult or complex to pay off.

Here are five reasons why YOU need to attend Dairy Week.

Finding the right talent is one thing, but keeping that talent is another.

When business is no longer usual, it’s a great time to reassess your strategic focus. Is your farm still marching toward its goals?

Join us as we unite together to celebrate our industry through Dairy Week 2020, Sept. 28 through Oct. 3.

President Trump has added $1 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program and extended it beyond the end of October.

Leaving a legacy is sometimes complicated by the unknown of who’s next in line. Adam Kline, an attorney who hails from an Indiana farm, shares four options for a farm operation without a successor.

If we’ve learned anything throughout 2020, it’s that in order to survive these crazy times, we have to learn how to adapt. This especially holds true for those who hold leadership positions.

An IT professional can save a lot of money and headaches.

In the long run, what opportunities could farmers harvest? Consider these emerging trends.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta and Rep. Billy Long introduced the Agricultural Fairs Rescue Act to help preserve agricultural fairs across the country and offset the devastating financial losses they have experienced.

The goal of breeding beef-on-dairy is to increase revenue for dairy producers.

Ensure your time investment creates farm profitability.

Manage your stress to keep it from ruining precious relationships and vital business partnerships.

With all the uncertainty surrounding markets in the wake of COVID-19, farmers are reaching for every option to stay afloat.

Become a place that people want to work, and then when people hear you have an opening, they come to you.

While not likely as a direct result of the global coronavirus situation, dairy replacement markets nonetheless joined other commodity and financial markets in a sickly state over recent weeks.

Imagine you have a bank account into which $1,440 is deposited every day. The catch: you can’t save it, you have to spend it all. How would you prioritize your spending, and who would receive it?

In a recent Dairy Herd Management poll, we asked our readers how long their mailbox milk price has been above their cost of production. Here are the results:

Veal production is one of the most heavily scrutinized areas of all of animal agriculture.

Analysts predict Class III milk prices to range from $16 to $19.50.

Whether you’re leading your own family or a staff of hundreds, effective coaching and employee satisfaction depends on effective communication.

While USDA initially said the second round of MFP payments would be made between Nov. 18 and Nov. 28, 2019, county FSA offices have been directed to prioritize processing of the payments and conclude that by November 22.

While dairy product prices are showing promising signs of recovery, the replacement heifer market has been slow to follow suit.

The key is good records, and then knowing what it is costing you to raise feed.

“The dairy business hadn’t been very good,” Mark Baker says. “My sons and my wife we’re all in this together, and we saw this as an opportunity we shouldn’t let pass.”

Determine how many heifers you need on your farm for a healthy economics on the farm.

“Don’t obsess about when the next downturn will be. You need to be smart when things are looking good and plan for the future."

With so much late-planted corn, it’s likely many farmers are struggling with wet grain.

The gradual recovery of U.S. milk prices has not yet reached the dairy replacement market.

“The reality is, bale density, or the hardness of the bale, has a heck of a lot to do with your return on investment.”

Costs associated with the cropping enterprise are extremely important whether a producer has a livestock operation or growing cash crops.

Joe Theismann is an entrepreneur and the former star quarterback for the Washington Redskins. On Tuesday, November 12, Theismann will give the keynote of the 2019 Milk Business Conference.

The financial health or profitability of a dairy operation is often the missing link of the farm’s financial picture.

Farmers who survived the downturn from more than 30 years ago learned best practices that are applicable to today’s challenges.

There are a large number of options that can potentially be used to mitigate methane emissions from dairy cattle.