Dairy producers in Texas and New Mexico continue to be on different trajectories. Preliminary USDA data indicates Texas milk production grew by more than 925 million pounds (about 6%) in 2022, topping 16.5 billion pounds.

Beyond sharing Great Lakes’ shorelines, dairy producers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio have a lot in common. Most were aided by the wave of higher milk prices in 2022, putting them in their best financial positions in years.

The USDA released its latest Ag Prices report on Feb. 28, including factors used to calculate January 2023 DMC margins and indemnity payments.

March 2023’s Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) advanced Class I base price moved lower, falling below $19 per hundredweight for the first time since November 2021.

The USDA’s monthly World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, released Feb. 8, reduced both 2022 and 2023 U.S. milk production estimates from last month, but also cut 2023 price projections.

October 2022 “mailbox” prices averaged about $1.04 per cwt less than announced average “all-milk” price for the same month.

The number of milk cows on U.S. farms was estimated at 9.4 million head in December, the smallest number since February.

While most of NMPF recommendations were approved last October, a specific recommendation related to Class I pricing differentials has taken longer to develop.