Fall is officially here, and harvest around my part of Pennsylvania is well underway. I ask that you pay attention to your surroundings as you move equipment from field-to-field, as you transport your harvested crops back to your farm or customers, and as you work longer than normal hours. In the hustle and bustle of…
The beginning of the 2019 growing season was challenging for much of the country. Corn and soybean planted acres were reduced compared to last year, and the last USDA Crop Production report indicates that challenging weather may have been a factor in reduced yields this year. The last Crop Production report shows that 2019 corn…
There are many factors that contribute to the price dairy farmers are paid for the milk their cows produce. Supply and demand certainly have their influence on how milk price is determined across the country. Recently, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released two annual spreadsheet updates, Dairy Products: Per Capita Consumption, United States and…
There are two weeks left before the 2019 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) enrollment period closes. September 20 marks the last day to enroll in DMC for the 2019 program year. It also marks the deadline to request a refund of Margin Protection Program premiums and receive the 25% premium discount for enrolling for the full…
We are at the end of August, and there seems to be a hint of fall in the air with only three weeks of summer left. School is back in session, so hopefully fluid milk sales will improve. I know back-to-school can be difficult for some family farms. Growing up, I remember my father had…
Although I was not in Pennsylvania until December of 2018, I know that the crop season last year was extremely challenging. My home state, North Carolina, faced the same challenges with wet weather last year. Pennsylvania had over 28 inches more rainfall last year than average. The wet fall of 2018 contributed to poor corn…
Over the last 18 years, the U.S. has become and important part of the global dairy supply. According to the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC), in 2003, dairy exports were worth $1 billion dollars, increasing more than five times to $5.6 billion in 2018. This represented a record volume of 15.8% of the U.S. milk…
Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) enrollment started on June 17, 2019 and will continue until September 20, 2019. Prior to enrollment, dairy farmers knew that January through April margins would trigger payments at the $9.50 per hundredweight margin coverage. Since enrollment began, May and June margins were announced as $9.00 and $8.63 per hundredweight, respectively, triggering…
Over the last 15 years, the U.S. dairy industry has become a significant supplier to the world market. Before that time, we supplied the world market when our price fell below the global price. In effect, we balanced the world market and were not a consistent world market player. That has changed dramatically. Exports were…
July milk prices continue to improve versus this time last month. As of July 22, 2019, Class III milk prices for the next 12 months were averaging $17.31/cwt compared to $17.00 this time last month. However, Class IV milk prices fell from $17.29 the last week of June to $17.16 this week. The current Class…
