A settlement agreement has been reached in a lawsuit involving Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and about 115 dairy farmers marketing milk in the northeast U.S. The agreement came one day before a jury trial, postponed from July due the COVID-19 pandemic, was scheduled to begin, Sept. 30. Details of the settlement were not made available at Progressive Dairy's deadline.

Declining milk prices shrunk the dairy income margin calculated under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program in August. However, slightly lower feed costs kept the monthly margin well above DMC indemnity payment trigger levels for a third straight month.

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Digest Highlights

• House ‘Heroes Act 2.0’ includes DMC provisions
• Dairy-RP: The need for speed
• Empty desks mean empty lunchrooms
• Restaurants need a shot
• USDA appoints members to National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board
• Implementation of new U.S. Dairy Sanitary Certificate to China announced
• DOL seeks to clarify worker, independent contractor status
• Vermont receives $7 million USDA grant for phosphorus reduction program
• Minnesota Dairy Promotion Council seeks candidates
• USDA offers aid to cover Oregon livestock losses due to wildfires
• Progressive Dairy COVID-19 resources

Update highlights

• October setting up for more negative PPDs
• NMPF: Dairy’s unusual year to stabilize?
• Dairy cow slaughter hits four-year low in August
• Rabobank: Dairy in a delicate balancing act
• Coming this week: August DMC margin

A discussion of risk management tools for dairy producers usually starts with how to manage milk price risk. There are also tools to use to reduce the price risk for feeder or fat cattle you sell from your dairy operation.

Sign-up for direct payments under a second Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) is now underway at USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. (Read: CFAP 2: Dairy payment is $1.20 per hundredweight.)

The Global Dairy Tech Start-up Spotlight is a new dairy technology forum to be held Oct. 1, 2020. The 90-minute virtual meeting will feature 10 rapid-fire, five-minute pitches from up-and-coming technology companies. The new event is pay-to-play. According to the event announcement, it is “funded by the start-ups themselves.”

Farmers believe in the effectiveness, and rely on, antibiotics for the care of their animals. However, some consumers believe antibiotics have negative side effects on the meat they consume.

Digest Highlights

• Proposal creates dairy pricing and policy commission
• NMPF launches ‘natural disaster’ dairy resource page
• Kraft selling majority of cheese businesses to Lactalis
• Turkey Hill Clean Water Partnership receives EPA grant
• California: Pre-coronavirus fluid milk sales summarized
• Progressive Dairy COVID-19 resources