Digest Highlights

• 2021 DMC payments top $1.1 billion
• DFA regional brands donating 2 million servings of milk
• MMPA to acquire Superior Dairy
• Land O’Lakes seeks to quell butter supply chain concerns
• FMCSA extends COVID-19 emergency exemption
• World Dairy Expo seeks new general manager
• USDA buys nonfat dry milk, cheese
• Input costs, policy changes weigh on producer sentiment
• GDT price index keeps rising
• And in other news …

Update Highlights

• November Class IV milk price highest since October 2014
• October dairy product output mixed
• Cull cow prices following seasonal pattern
• U.S. farm wages on the rise
• USDA buys fluid milk, process cheese
• USDA sets December FSA loan interest rates
• USDA offers ‘micro’ insurance coverage

Digest Highlights

• USDA denies Class I exemption request
• Vitaliano: Production shift taking on historical perspective
• Lactalis closes acquisition of U.S. Kraft Heinz natural cheese business
• Dairy cull cow slaughter steady
• U.S. dairy export outlook improves
• August 2021 mailbox, all-milk price spread narrows
• Kansas seeks Supreme Court review of ag facility protection act

Preliminary results from an online survey of dairy producers found strong support for a return to the “higher-of” Class I mover pricing formula, even though in recent months producers have realized a small net benefit from the “average-of plus 74 cents” formula that replaced it in 2019.

Digest Highlights

• American Dairy Coalition conducting Class I formula survey
• DMI 2020 annual report available online
• Farm Credit East, Yankee Farm Credit merger moves to vote
• USDA seeking bids for string cheese
• Following up: Northeast organic dairies; PFAS assistance

The phrase, “The gorilla in the room” is often used to describe something that is obvious yet ignored. The “gorillas” in milk marketing have grown more obvious due to disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system designed for a different time.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has posted a 12-minute webinar with details for dairy producers who may be eligible for payments under the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP). If contacted this month, a critical step for eligible dairy farmers is to certify that they meet USDA adjusted gross income (AGI) requirements with their milk handler or cooperative.