This Dairy Regional Recap includes information on use of EPA funds by environmental advocates in Washington state, the latest outlook for Pennsylvania dairy farms and a study of farmer health in robotic milking systems. This and other U.S. region-by-region dairy news can be found here.

The number of niche-market dairy and beef products are expanding, with individual companies making various label and marketing claims. One of the fastest-growing markets is “grassfed” milk, attracting producers and consumers, and premium prices.

U.S. average milk production costs are the lowest since 2010, but so are milk prices. Commodity prices are impacting land values and credit conditions in the Southwest. Organic Valley cooperative reported an average milk pay price of $36.79 per hundredweight in 2015. This and other U.S. dairy economic news can be found here.

USDA’s April World Ag Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised 2016 U.S. milk production and marketing estimates slightly, but left projected milk prices mostly unchanged.

Northeast U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation calling for modifications to the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy), potentially leading to state-level income margin calculations.

Northeast U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation calling for modifications to the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy), potentially leading to state-level income margin calculations.

Rules allowing voluntary supply management advance in the European Union. Canadian dairy farmers want tighter enforcement of cheese standards to cut ultrafiltered milk imports. This and other U.S. dairy industry news can be found here.

Margin Protection Program for Dairy participants can update their production history when an eligible family member joins the operation. Dairy producer, exporter and processor organizations support the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, but ask the federal government to watch implementation and enforcement. This and other U.S. dairy policy news can be found here.

The U.S. trade deficit reached a six-month high in February, but don’t blame agriculture. U.S. agriculture, including dairy, remains an industry producing a trade surplus.

Organic Valley, the largest cooperative of organic farmers in the United States, reported an average milk pay price of $36.79 per hundredweight in 2015. The average is nearly $20 higher than the USDA-reported all-milk price average of $17.08 per hundredweight.