October’s Dairy Margin Coverage margin receded $0.40 per hundredweight from its record level a month earlier, to $15.17 per hundredweight. That’s the second highest level since margin protection became dairy’s basic federal safety-net mechanism. October fluid-milk sales were 1.3 percent more than a year earlier, which continued to keep growth positive of past three-month and year-to-date sales. Yogurt and butter showed particularly strong U.S. consumption gains during August-October, despite both reaching their most ever retail prices during the period.
Following 16 consecutive months when U.S. dairy cows were less than year-earlier numbers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the national milking-cow herd grew by 10,000 cows year-over-year in October. Together with other factors, that likely indicates a return to expansion mode for U.S. milk production. Stocks of all cheese decreased almost to pre-pandemic levels at the end of October, likely driven by constrained production growth and robust exports. Cheese-price weakness was responsible for decreasing the Class III price by almost $3 per hundredweight in November from a month earlier.
National Milk Producers Federation
Dec 30, 2024
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