So much can change in 51 years, no matter what industry you talk about. This has certainly been the case in the dairy industry. Looking back on 2020 and the disruption that COVID-19 had on so many aspects of the U.S. economy, including dairy, a lot can change in a matter of months. The Economic…
One positive for the dairy industry despite a tough year for many dairy farmers last year was the surprising surge in exports since the pandemic began. 2020 ended as a record volume year shipping a milk solids equivalent (MSE) of 2.1 million metric tons (MT) of dairy products throughout the world. The record volume represented…
Based on the latest (May 3, 2021) USDA Crop Progress report, corn planting has ramped up over the last two weeks across Pennsylvania and much of the nation. According to USDA 2020 corn production annual totals, Pennsylvania ranked 16th in the nation in corn acreage planted and bushels of corn harvested. As of the week…
We may not be quite through with a cold snap here and there, but with flowers blooming and green tree leaves appearing, we are certainly moving away from cold weather. I know the amount of pollen is certainly building because my itchy eyes tell the story even if I could not see a pollen film…
Numerous things happened last year after the pandemic hit full force. The shift in milk demand sent food service sales plummeting, retailers scrambling to keep dairy products in their coolers, and milk prices tumbling. That is just the dairy industry. In turn, many sectors of the U.S. economy were provided relief, including those potentially most…
The pandemic has been difficult on Class IV milk and product prices during the last year. However, several factors have been working together recently to help facilitate a rebound in Class IV milk and product prices. March Class IV price was announced last week as $14.18 per cwt. This certainly is not where we would…
Since the Biden administration took over in late January, there has been considerable anticipation as to what was going to be done with the stimulus package that was passed the end of December 2020. Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently announced that the Pandemic Assistance for Producers (PAP) program will use $12…
I wanted to take this week’s article, as we get into warmer weather prior to the full swing of spring planting, to remind everyone the importance of safety. In addition to the normal dangers associated with working in agriculture, COVID-19 ushered in a new concern relative to the safety and health of farm workers. I…
Welcome to spring and daylight saving time. I do not know about you, but when I was farming, “Springing Forward” was not something I looked forward to. It did not have anything to do with one hour less sleep. When you run a dairy, you are not guaranteed a certain amount of sleep each night…
We can certainly agree 2020 did not turn out the way it was predicted at the beginning of last year. No one would have guessed that a year later we would still be dealing with a worldwide pandemic. The 2020 U.S. all-milk price averaged $18.32 per cwt, Class III averaged $18.16, and Class IV averaged…
