April’s margin was $10.42 per hundredweight (cwt) after feed costs were stronger than expected and the milk price fell again, pushing the margin down from March and resulting in the year’s lowest margin yet.

Cutting-edge dairy technology and its real-life application on dairy operations will be at the forefront during the 2025 Precision Dairy Conference, which will be held June 17-18 in Bloomington, Minnesota. This year’s speaker lineup includes several producer panels, veterinarians sharing their perspective on technology, research and TED-style keynote presentations.

Revenue for dairy producers should climb in June as the trivial markets during the spring are forecast to improve with the income over feed cost margin predicted to settle at $12.60 per hundredweight (cwt). Additionally, the USDA announced upcoming changes to the Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP), Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) and Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance programs that will affect dairy producers.

Making headlines as the calendar moved from April to May 2025: The U.S. and Indonesia sign landmark dairy agreement, USTR calls out misuse of common food names, May FSA interest rates slightly lower and news from two dairy cooperatives.

March’s margin was $11.55 per hundredweight (cwt), the result of a relatively stable feed cost but sinking all-milk price as then-talks of a looming trade war pressured the export market while domestic consumer spending cooled at the same time.

The milk market is taking shape with components reaching record highs and milk production climbing with the spring flush, but also with trade wars shaking the grain markets and concerns for domestic dairy demand letting up. Current forecasts predict 2025 dairy margins to be favorable although not as strong as previously anticipated.