January 3, 2023 marked the first day of trading in the new year. Unfortunately, Class III and Class IV milk prices continued the downward trends that started last year. To start 2023, there are a lot of market dynamics that are pressuring milk prices to continue to move lower. With a larger, more efficient herd…
November Class III and IV prices were announced earlierthis month at $21.01 and $23.30, respectively. The Class III price represents an eighty cents per cwt drop compared to October, and the Class IV price is $1.66 per cwt less than October. With the main holiday buying season over and continued improvement in domestic and world…
The USDA publishes an online calendar of release dates for its most common reports each month. The quickest way to find this calendar is to search for “USDA Report Calendar” in your Internet browser’s search bar. On Google, it is the first site that comes up. For example, dairy exports and dairy product disappearance are…
Last week, I wrote about new risk management resources available in print and online to help dairy farmers and their advisors navigate the sometimes-rough waters of understanding what programs are out there and how to use them to help mitigate milk price risk. In addition to risk management resources, the Center offers a wide variety…
As dairy markets continue to become more volatile and unpredictable, risk management will also become more crucial to managing through milk price downturns. As a teenager, I was old enough to start learning about dairy markets and the dairy economy as I was working alongside my father. Leading up to and through the 1990s, it…
October Class III and IV prices were announced earlier this month at $21.81 per cwt and $24.96 per cwt, respectively. These prices likely represented the peak prices for the foreseeable future. According to futures prices at market closing on Nov. 21, Class III and IV milk prices will be lower at $21.02 and $23.35, respectively,…
It is not unusual for Class III and Class IV milk prices to be inverse. However, it is relatively unusual that Class IV stays persistently higher. Class III and IV prices inverted last November when Class IV settled 76 cents more than Class III at $18.79 per cwt. Since then, Class IV has remained above…
I am sure you have heard this phrase at some point: “We’re in a world economy now.” The dairy industry is not and will not be immune to international influence especially as the U.S. becomes more reliant on the export market to disperse surplus milk supply. Exports lessen the impact of a domestic surplus on…
For the second month in a row and the second time this year, the September Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) margin triggered an indemnity. Announced earlier this week, the Sept. DMC margin was $8.62 per cwt. This is a 54 cents per cwt improvement over August but still well below the maximum $9.50 margin coverage. The…
According to milk futures prices as of the close of business on October 21, Class IV milk price is expected to remain higher than Class III prices the rest of this year and for all next year as well. At $21.82 and $24.88 per cwt, the October Class III and IV futures prices indicate that…
