Margins appear encouraging with the recent swell in Class III prices and improved feed costs. Cheese exports to Mexico have also been critical for U.S. dairy producers as shipments to China and Southeast Asia have slowed. Yet, with extreme weather conditions and the continued spread of avian influenza, having a strategy to manage risk is essential.

Better whey and butterfat product exports, along with the ever-growing cheese category, helped settle U.S. dairy product exports at a 3% rise in April, marking the second month of the year to record growth. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s 30,000-foot view at dairy-related export categories.

News rippled through the greenhouse gas (GHG) space as announcements were recently made regarding both dairy methane emissions in California as well as the voluntary carbon market across the nation.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report May 31, which includes feed costs used to calculate April Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments. A $9.60 per hundredweight (cwt) margin was the result of a rally in milk during the second half of the month to offset the steady feed markets.

The dairy landscape is seeing rapid, much-welcomed improvements as milk markets rallied in May with Class III futures surpassing $20 per hundredweight (cwt), $4 above April’s prices. Coupled with feed costs receding, dairy margins are looking better for the remainder of the year.

Here’s an update on interest rates from quarter four of 2023 and quarter one of 2024 as reported by four Federal Reserve districts that share data impacting dairy finances.

Dairy producers in non-major dairy states will notice a change to how their Dairy-Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) insurance coverage is determined.

Despite climbing U.S. cheese shipments in March, U.S. dairy exports fell into the red with a 7% slip from a strong year-over-year performance in February. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s 30,000-foot view at dairy-related export categories.