COVID-19 is impacting the entire economy and marketplace, including the milk market. We’ll be providing weekly updates with milk futures prices and other market updates to help keep you as knowledgeable as possible during this time. View the entire list of weekly updates.
Class III and IV milk prices as of Thursday, June 18 at noon were following similar trends as last week. Class III overall continues to rally. Average class price for the next 12 months is up $0.63 per cwt to $17.47 compared to last Friday’s $16.84. Most of the gains have occurred in the first 9 months. Both June and July Class III futures are trading over $20 per cwt right now. Class IV is still trending down slightly compared to last week. Average Class IV price for the next 12 months is $15.73, 7 cents per cwt less than last Friday. Trading is expected to remain rather volatile for the foreseeable future.
Earlier this week, Governor Tom Wolf announced that the Commonwealth will be providing $40 million of federal relief money it received from the CARES Act stimulus package signed into law on March 27 to help the Pennsylvania agriculture community in recouping lost revenue due to COVID-19. His administration is allocated $15 million in funds to address losses sustained by dairy farmers across Pennsylvania that were affected by displaced or dumped milk. More information and a link to the application can be found in the following excerpt from the Administration June 16, 2020 press release.
“Any dairy farm that experienced financial losses due to discarded or displaced milk during the COVID-19 emergency disaster may apply for assistance. Each farm with a documented loss will receive a minimum of $1,500 and an additional prorated share of the remaining funds, not to exceed the actual amount assessed by the handler. The deadline to apply for the Dairy Indemnity Program is September 30, 2020.”
