Seemingly in a race to the top, record-high milk prices surpassed record-high feed costs in March to help buffer dairy producer milk income margins calculated under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.

Imagine you post a photo of a Holstein cow on your Facebook page and then hundreds of negative comments start pouring in.

March 2022 milk production was slightly lower than a year earlier, but higher milk prices are bringing more cows back into the herd.

I’m all for getting out of your comfort zone and embracing fresh ideas. One of the biggest movements currently taking place in business is a focus on adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

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Editor's note: The original article has been updated to include comments from Dairy Farmers of America. Multiple dairy farmers in New Mexico have filed a class action complaint against Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), Select Milk Producers and the Greater Southwest Agency Inc. (GSA), alleging the organizations conspired to drive down prices for raw milk in the Southwest since 2015. The complaint (case 1:22-cv-00251), was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, April 4.

Escalating feed costs ate into milk income margins in February but not enough to trigger indemnity payments under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include "mailbox" price data from the USDA. Full-year 2021 weighted average “mailbox” prices averaged about $1 per hundredweight (cwt) less than announced average “all-milk” prices for the same period, based on a review of two USDA milk price announcements.