Is The Milk Price Done Going Down?

Dairy farmers across the country have been battling a milk price that is at breakeven levels or worse for most of 2015. Can they expect that to be the case next year? It’s possible. In the meantime Naomi Bloom of Stewart Peterson LLC says the price is done going down.

Last week she visited with “AgDay” host Clinton Griffiths at the Executive Women in Agriculture conference to talk about what she anticipates for the 2016 milk market.

Watch that video here:

Bloom says that she has hope for a strong price in 2016 but doesn’t anticipate it to take a straight line for higher prices.

“Hope, yes” she says. “But more of a sideways trade for a while, specifically between $14.50 and $15 range.”

Bloom says the supply issue in the U.S. is keeping the price suppressed. Recently USDA reported that production is down significantly in the Western states but Bloom notes the Eastern states are picking up the slack.

In the past increased production has been absorbed by the export market which isn’t strong in any dairy sector but powder, also plaguing the milk price.  

“Now we have a higher dollar and our exports are lower,” she explains.  

Bloom says she thinks it will take some time but there will be stabilizing in the marketplace.

“I don’t have anything bullish to report for next year,” she says, “but at least we’re done going down.”