The USDA announced September’s and October’s margin to be $10.87 and $10.52 per hundredweight (cwt) for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), down 65 cents and $1.00 from August’s margin of $11.52 per cwt. Both month’s margins were above $9.50, which resulted in no indemnities being triggered at any coverage level.
Based on the August USDA Dairy Products report, U.S. cheese output totaled 1.20 billion pounds, up 0.5 percent from August 2024 but down 1.2 percent from July 2025. Italian type cheese production increased 1.8 percent year over year to 510 million pounds. For August, American type cheese equaled 474 million pounds, a 0.3 percent increase…
Based on the October USDA Milk Production report, U.S. milk output totaled 19.5 billion pounds, a 3.7 percent increase from the same month the prior year. September’s production total was revised downward by 34 million pounds from the preliminary estimate. October’s production per cow averaged 2,033 pounds, up 29 pounds from October 2024.
According to the November World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), 2025’s total milk production was revised upward from previous estimates to 231.4 billion pounds or 2.4 percent growth year over year. If the recent projections are realized, 2025 could be the first year to see significant growth since 2021. This could have been spurred…
A surging milk supply continues to put downward pressure on Class III and IV milk prices. The October Class III milk price was announced at $16.91 per hundredweight, down 68 cents from September and $5.24 below October 2024 prices. This is the lowest Class III milk price since April 2024. The October Class IV price…
According to a recent American Farm Bureau Federation column, the U.S. cattle herd is in its seventh year of contraction and in year 12 of the cattle cycle. If positive economic returns continue, farmers could be incentivized to rebuild the nation’s cattle herd, but if prices take a turn for the worse, contraction could persist….
Even with strong cheese demand and production, raw whey supplies are strained. High-protein whey demand, including whey isolates and whey protein concentrates, continues to grow exponentially. The result is processors are redirecting their whey supply into the products with a higher percentage of protein, which has led to tight dry whey supplies. Recent conflicts with…
Class III milk price futures on the CME are now sitting at right around $16.67 per hundredweight for the next six months. That is down about $2 – $3 from where they were earlier this year. Class IV prices have fallen even more dramatically. Currently, Class IV milk futures are sitting below $14.41 for the…
Based on the most recent USDA Estimated Total U.S. Sales of Fluid Milk Products report released mid-September, fluid milk sales were down in July, following an increase in June’s sales. Even though historically fluid milk sales dip in the summer months leading up to kids returning to school across the country, 2025 total fluid milk…
Based on the latest USDA Agricultural Prices report released on September 30, the August margin was calculated to be $11.52 per hundredweight (cwt) for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program, up 58 cents from July’s margin and down $2.20 from the same month the prior year. So far this program year, participating producers still have…
