Based on the November USDA Milk Production report, we saw a modest increase in Pennsylvania’s milk production of 1.0% from November 2023’s 783 million pounds to November 2024’s 791 million pounds. PA cow numbers were down 1,000 head from last year’s 466,000 head to 465,000 head. Milk output per cow climbed 20 pounds from 1,680…
It gets talked about all the time, and it is an ever more important feature in the US dairy market as we ship about 4% of our milk in the form of cheese on a protein basis into the international market. But we often don’t take the time to break down the who, what, and…
Based on the USDA October 2024 Milk Production Report, we saw U.S. milk production increase 0.2% from October 2023 to 18.69 million pounds. U.S. milk cow numbers climbed 10,000 head year-over-year and 19,000 head month-overmonth to 9.37 million. This increase in cow numbers on a national scale could be due to low replacement heifer inventories,…
The USDA announced October’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) margin at $15.17 per hundredweight (cwt), $5.67 above the $9.50 trigger. This will be the eighth consecutive month for program year 2024 with no indemnities triggered at any coverage level. Following September’s peak margin at $15.57 per cwt, we saw a 40-cent drop in October’s margin. October’s…
At my house, just off the crest of the valley top with fields to the west, there’s typically a point in mid-October when it seems like something in the wind shifts, issuing in the change of season. This year, the dairy markets seemed to experience a similar drafty shift. For months, dairy prices strengthened from…
When most producers think about managing risks on their dairy, they think about milk price and margins, weather and crop loss risks, animal health issues, and maybe even farm safety concerns. They don’t always think about how to manage against the risk of losing a key employee on the farm to another opportunity. While employee…
The USDA announced September’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) margin at $15.57 per hundredweight(cwt), the highest margin since the program’s inception in 2019. The margin did not trigger indemnities at any coverage level. September’s margin made a $1.85 per cwt jump from August’s margin of $13.72. From September 2023’s margin at $8.44 per cwt to September…
According to the USDA’s Milk Production report, Pennsylvania’s milk production came in at 779 million pounds for September 2024, up 0.1% year over year, after several months of slight to modest declines. From September 2023’s 465,000 head, Pennsylvania’s cow numbers experience a slight 1,000 head increase to 466,000 in September 2024. From August to September,…
Opportunities are presented to us every day, but it’s the actions we take when they cross our path that determine our outcome. When it comes to dairy risk management, we may not see an opportunity for what it is until weeks or months later. However, no one is ever going to time the markets perfectly…
In mid-September the U.S. dairy markets were riding high. CME spot cheddar barrel prices were climbing toward record highs, and blocks were trading at historically elevated levels. Butter was sitting above the $3 per pound mark, while the nonfat dry milk market was pushing toward the highest levels in two years.
