Agriculture-related jobs have long been considered dangerous occupations. The statistics collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirm this thought. In 2020, the latest data available, there were 45,900 nonfatal agriculture work-related injuries, ranking 11th highest out of the 18 occupation categories listed. However, looking at the rate of fatal incidents tells a…
Fluid milk has been the pride of the U.S. Dairy Industry for many decades. I would be willing to say that milk has been the pride of the human civilization for thousands of years. In Exodus 3-8, God promises to bring the Israelites “into a land good a spacious, a land flowing with milk and…
All life depends on water. Farmers know that better than anyone. Water issues become priority on a dairy farm regardless of the time of year. How many of us have had to fix a bursted water pipe while it is 15 degrees out? I know I have. It is not fun. Milk is over 87%…
Milk production has been relatively stagnant this year. June production was originally reported as having year-over-year (YOY) growth of about 33 million pounds (+0.2%). After revised milk production and cow numbers were released this month, June milk production shrank by 12 million pounds (-0.1%) because of a smaller herd size than what was originally reported…
We have made it to the middle of August, and I’m sure many of you are gearing up for corn silage chopping season. As I travel through Pennsylvania lately, it is obvious, like all years, that some parts of the state have been more blessed with rain than others. Overall, the corn and soybean fields…
In years when the U.S. has high milk prices, it usually means exports do not perform as well as when there are low prices. When the U.S. experiences high prices, generally, other dairy exporting countries’ dairy product prices are lower and are more appealing to dairy importing countries. However, 2022 has proven to be different…
For the first time in the almost 4-year history of the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, premiums will not be covered by triggered indemnities by the time premiums are due. Language in the 2018 Farm Bill states that DMC premium balances are due to local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices no later than September 1st…
For the first time this year and the first time since October 2021, U.S. milk production experienced a year-over-year (YOY) increase in June according to the latest Milk Production report released last week. Despite market conditions (record high milk prices) that generally cause a surge in milk production, U.S. output has been on the decline….
It is hard to believe that we are over halfway through another year already. Hopefully, you have been able to enjoy some ice cream during National Ice Cream Month. I thought it would be a good time to share some mid-year forecasts. Overall, milk and feed commodity markets have been very volatile this year. Read…
Class III and IV milk futures prices have been experiencing a slight decline on average for a couple months now. However, current futures prices as of July 12 show a sharper decline over the last couple of weeks compared to one month ago. On June 9, 12-month average Class III price was $23.41 per cwt…
