Strong demand for U.S. dairy products around the global, with the exception of China, propelled year-over-year dairy exports forward by 8.5% in September. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s 30,000-foot look at dairy-related export categories.

According to the USDA Cattle on Feed report published Oct. 25, total U.S. inventory of cattle on feed for the slaughter market on Oct. 1 was 11.6 million head, a slight drop from the same report in 2023.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report Oct. 31, which includes feed costs used to calculate the September Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments. The month’s margin was $15.57 per hundredweight (cwt).

Dairy cull cows marketed through U.S. slaughter plants in September lowest since 2007.

U.S. milk production was down 3.9% in September compared to a month prior, according to the USDA’s September Milk Production report released Oct. 21. Production was up 0.1% year over year, while third quarterly estimates (July-September) were also up slightly from the same time in 2023.

The October Feed Outlook report shows this month’s 2024-25 U.S. coarse grains outlook is for reduced supplies, despite an increase in output. Although sorghum supplies are raised on higher production and beginning stocks, lower corn carry-in for 2024-25 more than offsets these gains – including a corn production bump.

The USDA’s World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report offers forecasts for dairy, beef and feedstuffs.

August’s slight rise in U.S. dairy export volume positions year-to-date export volume growth at 0.1%, the first time in all of 2024 where volumes have surpassed the no-growth threshold.

Dairy producers visiting World Dairy Expo are seeing some of the best cows in the U.S. Returning home, many could see some of the strongest milk checks in almost two years.