Markets & Management

Last week USDA announced July’s margin under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program at $3.52 per hundredweight, the lowest margin on record since the program began in 2019. The margin fell another 13 cents from June’s low and is $6.40 below margins a year ago at this time. The DMC margin is reported each month after USDA publishes its Ag Prices Report. In the latest report, the July all-milk price was announced at $17.40 per cwt., down 50 cents from June and $8.30 below year-earlier levels. July’s all-milk price is the lowest since March of 2021. The drop in the all-milk price was offset by a 37-cent drop in feed costs from June to July, with corn price falling 27 cents per bushel and alfalfa hay price down $22 per ton. Soybean meal prices, however, increased $29.69 per ton from the lowest of the year in June. Overall, feed costs per hundredweight are down $1.90 from a year ago to $13.88 in July.

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