Dairy Information: Protecting Your Profits

The Center for Dairy Excellence offers several information resources to help producers identify opportunities to protect their profits. These documents are reviewed on a monthly “Protecting Your Profits” conference call.  Click here to access the latest “Protecting Your Profits” Webinar.

Pennsylvania Dairy Industry Performance Scorecard:The Center for Dairy Excellence publishes a monthly “PA Dairy Industry Performance Scorecard,” which looks at key factors supporting the growth of Pennsylvania’s dairy industry and evaluates trends affecting Pennsylvania’s dairy farms.

  • Pennsylvania’s rolling herd average increased for the eighth consecutive month to a record 21,852. These cows averaged 3.3% more milk per head compared to December 2013. The herd remained at 530,000 cows, so total production also grew by 3.3%.
  • The Pennsylvania All Milk Price fell 11.1% to $21.60.
  • December’s feed cost per cwt of milk is 7.9% more than December 2013 and margins were 15.2% lower than last year.
  • The state average days in milk increased by two days compared to last year as high milk prices encouraged producers to keep cows longer.

Protecting Your Profits Scorecard:To provide an overview of the national dairy industry, with consumption, marketing and production trends, the center publishes the monthly “Protecting Your Profits” scorecard.

  • Cow numbers are slowly increasing. They are above 9.3 million for first time since January 2009, but they are only 0.7% over three year average,
  • December slaughter numbers are equal to December 2013 and not significantly different than December 2012 & 2011.
  • U.S. production grew + 1.3 lb /hd over last December. December year over year increase has been closer to 1 lb going back to 2007.
  • Butter inventories are always at their lowest in December but you have to go back to December 2010 to find lower butter stocks.
  • Exports are currently at 14% of U.S. production. Imports represent 3.4%.
  • CME cheese prices are trading at 2012 levels, around $1.55 this spring. 20 percent under the three year average.
  • CME butter prices are currently trading 11% below their three year average, EU butter is 6.9% under the three year average, while the current GDT butter price is 7.7% above its three year average.

Alan'-photo-colorAlan Zepp, the center’s risk management program manager, reviews both of these scorecards monthly during his “Protecting Your Profits” calls. The calls are held the last Wednesday of every month. Click here to access a recording of the latest call.