August 20, 2021: Survey-Based Corn Yield

As we approach harvest season and have a better idea of what yields will look like, USDA starts estimating yields based on actual survey results. The Aug. 12 Crop Production report is the first  estimate this year to use actual corn survey data to estimate yields. As with every year, different parts of the U.S….

August 13, 2021: Exports Through June

Milk price has been extremely volatile over the last year and a half, making it very difficult across the Northeast for dairy farmers to know what they will be paid for their milk. One bright spot over  that same period is exports. Without the volume of exports that have left U.S. borders since March 2020,…

August 6, 2021: Margins Sink Further in June

It is never a good thing when milk price falls and feed commodity prices increase. This has been the case for most of 2021. When milk price has managed to increase, feed costs have risen enough  to offset it. When feed prices have managed to decrease, the milk price has fallen enough to continue to…

July 30, 2021: July

The July 26, USDA Crop Progress report shows that the corn crop across the country is progressing on par with last year and, in general, on par with the five-year average: 79% of the U.S. corn  crop is silking, which is the same as last year but slightly above the five-year average of 73%. Pennsylvania,…

July 23, 2021: Shifting Utilization

In the two and half years I have been working in the Pennsylvania dairy industry, Pennsylvania has lost over 12% of its dairy farms, but the herd size of those remaining has increased by 6% to 89  cows per dairy in 2020. This does not sound like much of a herd size increase, but it…

July 16, 2021: Sustainability

Over the last 10 to 15 years, “sustainability” has become a hot topic. However, the definition of sustainability may be different depending on the individual asked. A simple definition prior to 15  years ago might have been the ability to maintain something at a certain rate, or for a dairy farmer, sustainability may be the…

July 9, 2021: Dairy Production and Stocks

May’s U.S. milk production posted a 4.6% year-over-year (YOY) increase to 19.9 bil. pounds. This was the largest YOY growth in nearly 10 years. With the release of the USDA Dairy Products report July 2, we have a full picture of what May dairy product stocks and production looked like because of a near 10-year…

July 2, 2021: High Feed Cost

In general, the largest expense on a dairy operation is by far the feed cost. Maybe a grazing herd’s feed costs are lower, but in the Northeast, cows cannot graze year-round and feed cost increases  in the winter with grasses dormant and perhaps covered by snow. Unfortunately, commodity prices began to rise last fall and…

June 18, 2021: June Dairy Month

My elementary and middle school years spanned the early 1980s to the early 1990s. I always remember how proud I was, as a young kid, to be a dairy farmer’s child when June Dairy Month came  around. It was always toward the end of the school year, and I would get to talk to my…

June 11, 2021: Post Pandemic Demand

As new COVID-19 cases decline across Pennsylvania and the nation, many states have relaxed or lifted mask mandates and restaurant capacities. On Memorial Day in Pennsylvania, Governor Wolf  lifted the restrictions on restaurant capacity, which can now operate at 100% capacity. Mask mandates will remain in effect with some flexibility for individuals or groups of…