Midwest Dairy Returns Soften in June
Returns to management softened slightly in June for Midwest dairy farmers compared to May, even though milk and cull cow prices were up slightly.
According to budgets prepared by Robert Tigner, Nebraska Extension dairy specialist, returns to management were 69¢/cwt for herds producing 24,000 lb. of milk per cow annually. That’s down 16¢ from May. Herds producing 20,000 lb. of milk per cow lost 86¢/cwt in June. In May, these herds lost 78¢/cwt.
“The budgets show lower returns to milk in June primarily due to a more negative Producer Price Differential (PPD) than May,” says Tigner. The PPD was -21¢ in May; it was -42¢/cwt in June in the Central Federal Milk Marketing Order.
Feed prices were also up. “The corn price was slightly higher but soybean meal rose by $48/ton and cottonseed by $34/ton,” he says.
