COVID-19 is impacting the entire economy and marketplace, including the milk market. We’ll be providing weekly updates with milk futures prices and other market updates to help keep you as knowledgeable as possible during this time. View the entire list of weekly updates.
After decent gains were posted at the end of last week, some of those gains were reversed this week with average Class III and IV prices on Friday, May 22 as of 3:00 p.m. losing ground compared to last Friday’s futures prices. Average Class III price for the next 12 weeks is $15.84, down $0.32 from last week’s $16.16 per cwt. Class IV average for the next 12 months is $14.46 per cwt, down only $0.09 per cwt compared to last week’s $14.55.
The FSA will begin accepting application for direct payments for commodities covered under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) on Tuesday, May 26. The Center has created a new webpage that contains information on how to apply and what is needed to apply. All details on how payments are calculated and the payrates for each covered commodity can be found. Additionally, there is an application checklist that can be downloaded and printed out for reference while filling out the application. FSA offices will be closed to the public due to COVID-19, so applicants must call their local FSA office and set up an appointment to apply. There is a link on the new webpage to help locate the contact information for local FSA offices in each state. FSA asks that applicants remain patient while trying to contact as they expect to be inundated with call beginning next Tuesday.
Producers can also enroll for CFAP payments online and do not have to set up an appointment with FSA as long as they have been an FSA customer in the past and have all of the FSA forms in place. The USDA has provided the following payment calculator, which gives producers the option to print the application after entering their data, and then sign it and submit it to their County FSA Office by email, fax, or mail. Download the payment calculator if you’d like to submit your application this way.
The table below shows the expected payment for different herd sizes base on Pennsylvania’s 2019 average annual milk production of 20,629 pounds per cow.
