Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class III and Class IV milk prices improved again in May, but the spread between the two grew wider.

Digest Highlights

• House letter urges permanent school milk flexibility
• Gillibrand seeks possible investigation, CFAP payments for dairy
• Eight appointed to Fluid Milk Board
• Global Dairy Trade index trend continues
• USDA purchases dairy products
• Ag Economy Barometer diverges
• World Milk Day used to launch dairy ‘sustainability’ information campaigns

Editor's note: This article has been updated with margin, price and payment tables. Higher feed costs ate up more than half of the milk price increase in April, resulting in another substantial indemnity payment for dairy producers participating in the 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.

Digest Highlights

• USDA moving forward on DMC production history adjustment rule
• June 2021 Class I base moves above $18.25
• Things you might have missed: NMPF’s May Dairy Market Report, USDEC office in Singapore a gateway to Southeast Asia, USDA to evaluate CRP for climate benefits, and more

In early May, Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) and Chobani LLC announced the launch of a Fair Trade dairy certification program. The program is an outgrowth of a previous pilot program involving the two organizations, conducted in New York and Idaho, to determine if Fair Trade’s Agricultural Production Standard (APS) could be applied to the dairy industry.

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai has initiated a formal U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute settlement proceeding over Canada’s administration of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs).

In this column, Progressive Dairy summarizes issues in the news and attempts to describe how they might affect dairy farmers. Look for more extensive background and details at Progressive Dairy. IItems in this column are compiled from Progressive Dairy staff news sources. Send news items to Dave Natzke.

Politically, last November’s election flipped the White House, deadlocked the Senate and tightened membership in the House, leaving Democrats holding majority power in all three.