The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report Sept. 30, which includes feed costs and milk prices used to calculate the August Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments. August’s margin was $11.52 per hundredweight (cwt) as a result of corn prices falling more than a quarter and milk prices rising a dime.

As the clock struck midnight and the calendar turned from September to October, the U.S. government officially shut down, with the Senate unable to strike any sort of budget compromise.

The U.S. average prices received for cull cows (beef and dairy, combined) in July 2025 averaged $157 per cwt, up $15 per cwt from July 2024 setting a new all-time high for cull cow prices.

Nineteen states including Idaho, Texas and Kansas boosted milk production a combined 654 million pounds in August.

The September Feed Outlook report shows corn area harvested is raised 1.356 million acres and area harvested for sorghum is raised 40,000 acres. Associated yields are lowered 2.1 bushels per acre for corn and raised 1.4 bushels for sorghum. Taken together, these changes result in production gains of 72.7 million bushels for corn and 10.7 million bushels for sorghum.

The September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report (WASDE) showed this month’s 2025-26 U.S. corn outlook is for greater supplies, larger exports and a slight reduction in ending stocks. Projected beginning stocks for 2025-26 are 20 million bushels higher based on a lower use forecast for 2024-25, with reductions in imports and corn used for ethanol partially offset by an increase in exports. 

The milk production forecast for 2025 is raised on higher cow inventories and a faster rate of growth in milk output per cow. Estimated at 230 billion pounds of milk, it was raised 800 million pounds from last month’s report.

The second half of 2025 is off to a strong start with July’s U.S. dairy product exports soaring 7% (14,144 metric tons) year over year in milk solid equivalents, which was the second-largest volume moved in any month aside from August 2022.