The third and final 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payment – this one equal to 5 cents per hundredweight (cwt) on a dairy farmer’s annual milk production history – should be deposited in dairy producers’ bank accounts during the first week of February, according to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. Perdue announced authorization of the payments on Feb. 3.

USDA’s semiannual estimate of cattle inventories indicates there were fewer dairy cows and replacement heifers to start the new year.

The U.S. average dairy income margin calculated under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program tightened slightly in December but was still the second-largest monthly margin of the year.

A team of university educators and agricultural organizations would like to learn more about the issues most important to you as you make decisions for the use of manure in cropping systems.

Digest Highlights

• Borden Dairy granted use of cash collateral
• Dairy State voters key in 2020 elections
• February Class I base: $17.55 per cwt
• Waters of the U.S. replacement announced
• Wisconsin governor seeks dairy aid package

While anti-dairy voices try to capitalize on declining farm numbers and bankruptcy filings by two major companies, Borden and Dean Foods, as signs the dairy industry is in a death spiral, the push to elevate the importance of dairy nutrition and labels continues.

The 2019 U.S. dairy herd was smaller than in 2018, but the number of cull cows slaughtered during the past year was the highest total since 1986, the year of a federal whole-herd buyout program.

U.S. milk production closed out 2019 about the same way it began, capping a year that saw annual production grow just 0.3% compared to the year before.

Digest Highlights

• ‘The Amazing Cow’ studies dairy’s sustainability
• Workforce Modernization Act on ‘impeachment’ hold
• Global factors aiding January dairy margins
• Global Dairy Trade index increases
• Florida’s Larson family farms partner on digester project

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) long journey has made it through Congress and is headed to President Trump’s desk, where his signature is expected next week. The U.S. Senate passed the USMCA on a bipartisan vote of 89-10 on Jan. 15, nearly a month after it was overwhelmingly approved in the House.