Fluid milk sales started the new year as they ended the last one, trending lower.

Here’s an update on risk management tools available through the USDA and/or USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), as well as information impacting your milk check.

Class I milk prices are headed lower but interest rates aren’t. A district court issues a limited Waters of the U.S. injunction.

Uniform prices were lower, the "average-of" Class I mover formula provided a small benefit on Class I prices and more Class IV milk returned to the pool.

The 2023 milk production forecast was raised by 200 million pounds from last month, based on a larger cow inventory.

Digest highlights

• NMPF board advances FMMO proposal
• Appeals court rules ‘gruyere’ is generic term
• Lynn named Agri-Mark president and CEO
• GDT index, cheese price softens
• USDA offers risk management training funds
• Ag producer sentiment weakens

• February FMMO milk class prices back to 2021 levels
• Global dairy product prices declined in February
• Dairy margins ended February modestly higher
• RaboResearch: The dairy squeeze is on

Intermingled with large population centers, dairy producers, processors and marketers in the Northeast and New England must stay in tune with local demands and global conditions. That results in a medley of opportunities and concerns.

A numerical snapshot of Wisconsin shows the state averaged about 1.27 million dairy cows in 2022, producing almost 31.9 billion pounds of milk. Both changed little from the year before.