Digest highlights

Natzke dave
Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

National FFA announces dairy proficiency winners

FFA Agricultural Proficiency Award winners were named during the 95th National FFA Convention & Expo, Oct. 27-28, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.

The recipients of forage- and dairy-related awards included:

  • Dairy Production – Entrepreneurship: Carrie Rhoades, Ansonia FFA Chapter in Ohio, is a seventh-generation dairy farmer. She raises her own herd of dairy replacement heifers, milking cows and dairy show cattle. She has a labor exchange agreement with her father to pay for the feed, rent and other necessities for her projects.
  • Dairy Production – Placement: Anthony Agueda, Hughson FFA Chapter in California, grew up on a third-generation dairy farm. His involvement with the operation began the summer before his freshman year. On 600 acres and with a milking herd of 2,200 cows, his responsibilities have steadily grown over the year. Agueda works to maintain animal facilities, analyze feed rations and nutritional intake, and oversees milking.

July all-milk, mailbox price gap averaged 90 cents

July 2022 “mailbox” prices averaged about 90 cents per hundredweight (cwt) less than announced average “all-milk” prices for the same month, based on a preliminary look at two USDA milk price announcements.

During July, U.S. all-milk prices (the estimated gross milk price received by dairy producers before marketing costs and other deductions) averaged $25.70 per hundredweight (cwt), down $1.40 from June 2022.The July 2022 mailbox prices (the estimated net price received by producers for milk) for selected Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) averaged $24.80 per cwt, down $1.13 per cwt from June 2022.

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The July spread between individual states or regions varied widely, with a difference of -$3.27 per cwt in Florida to a +17 cents per cwt in Illinois.

The difference in the two announced prices can affect dairy risk management, since indemnity payments under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) are based on the all-milk price, while Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) and Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy (LGM-Dairy) programs are based on FMMO class and component prices.

The USDA revised its June mailbox price report, raising prices received by producers in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. As a result, the spread between the average all-milk price and mailbox price for June was 97 cents, down from $1.03 per cwt previously calculated by Progressive Dairy.

As noted previously, impacts of higher processing costs could drive the spread between all-milk and mailbox prices wider, as processors implement “milk market adjustment” check deductions.

Michigan dairy producers approve checkoff continuation

Michigan’s dairy producers approved a referendum to continue the Michigan Dairy Market Program. Funded through a 10-cent-per-cwt checkoff on Grade A milk, the program will continue for an additional five years beginning Jan. 1, 2023.   

A total of 299 ballots were cast in the referendum. Of those, 269 producers (92%) voted yes, representing 4.15 billion pounds (93% of the annual production volume); 22 producers (8%) voted no, representing 311.5 million pounds (7% of annual production volume). Eight ballots were disqualified because of incomplete information or late postmark.

Maine PFAS Fund Advisory Committee to meet

Maine’s PFAS Fund Advisory Committee will meet on Nov. 14 in Augusta, Maine. The $60 million fund was created in Maine’s fiscal year 2023 supplemental budget to provide direct financial relief to the state’s farmers impacted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination.

Funding channels will include income replacement, as well as covering costs for equipment, facilities and infrastructure investments to enable farmers to transition to alternative cropping systems or implement remediation strategies. Additionally, the program will fund medical testing and monitoring of individuals whose agricultural land is contaminated by PFAS, research short-term farm management decisions, and identify soil and water remediation systems.

Two primary ways PFAS have affected agriculture include the use of firefighting foams close to farms and land application of biosolids.

Ag producer sentiment weaker

Current and future economic outlooks among U.S. farmers weakened in October, according to results of the monthly Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer survey. Survey respondents, weighted toward corn and soybean producers, cited higher interest rates and challenging shipping conditions on the Mississippi River.

The weaker financial performance illustrates producers’ concerns about high input costs combined with weaker commodity prices, said James Mintert, the barometer's principal investigator and director of Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. 

Despite those challenges, the percentage of producers who said now is a bad time to make large investments declined. However, the index remains at a weak level with the cost of new machinery cited as a major concern.

GDT product prices decline further

The latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction saw the overall price index drop 3.9%. With the exception of cheddar cheese, average prices in individual product categories were all lower in the Nov. 1 auction. The GDT platform offers dairy products from six global companies: Fonterra (New Zealand), Dairy America (U.S.), Amul (India), Arla (Denmark), Arla Foods Ingredients (Denmark) and Polish Dairy (Poland). The next GDT auction is Nov. 15.