There are two weeks left before the 2019 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) enrollment period closes. September 20 marks the last day to enroll in DMC for the 2019 program year. It also marks the deadline to request a refund of Margin Protection Program premiums and receive the 25% premium discount for enrolling for the full…
We are at the end of August, and there seems to be a hint of fall in the air with only three weeks of summer left. School is back in session, so hopefully fluid milk sales will improve. I know back-to-school can be difficult for some family farms. Growing up, I remember my father had…
Although I was not in Pennsylvania until December of 2018, I know that the crop season last year was extremely challenging. My home state, North Carolina, faced the same challenges with wet weather last year. Pennsylvania had over 28 inches more rainfall last year than average. The wet fall of 2018 contributed to poor corn…
Over the last 18 years, the U.S. has become and important part of the global dairy supply. According to the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC), in 2003, dairy exports were worth $1 billion dollars, increasing more than five times to $5.6 billion in 2018. This represented a record volume of 15.8% of the U.S. milk…
Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) enrollment started on June 17, 2019 and will continue until September 20, 2019. Prior to enrollment, dairy farmers knew that January through April margins would trigger payments at the $9.50 per hundredweight margin coverage. Since enrollment began, May and June margins were announced as $9.00 and $8.63 per hundredweight, respectively, triggering…
Over the last 15 years, the U.S. dairy industry has become a significant supplier to the world market. Before that time, we supplied the world market when our price fell below the global price. In effect, we balanced the world market and were not a consistent world market player. That has changed dramatically. Exports were…
July milk prices continue to improve versus this time last month. As of July 22, 2019, Class III milk prices for the next 12 months were averaging $17.31/cwt compared to $17.00 this time last month. However, Class IV milk prices fell from $17.29 the last week of June to $17.16 this week. The current Class…
There is no question that the last few years have been a trying time for dairy farmers across the country. Margins have been better this year, but after a multi-year downturn, it will take time to recuperate. The Center for Dairy Excellence has resources available to help you make decisions that allow you to capitalize…
It has always been important to know what is going on around your operation, but the digital era has made it even more important. There have been several animal abuse videos released recently, including two from dairies in Pennsylvania and a high-profile dairy in Indiana. Everyone involved in the dairy industry knows that animal abuse…
I have heard and written a lot about Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) over the last several weeks. I believe it will be a significant improvement over its predecessor, the Margin Protection Program. According to the USDA, over 5,000 dairies enrolled during the first 10 days of the enrollment period. With all the talk about DMC,…
