After 14 years of being published by the Chicago-based market exchange company CME Group, the Daily Dairy Report is under new management. Mary Ledman, a market commentator with more than 30 years experience in the dairy industry, has assumed ownership of the Daily Dairy Report, which will be re-launched as a subscription publication May 1. “The report will continue to provide timely market information while expanding its scope and impact,” says Ledman.

A Daily Dairy Report subscription will cost $99 per year as of May 1. Volume discounts will be available. (For details, email the Daily Dairy Report.)

Until the re-launch, current users will receive the reformatted version of the Daily Dairy Report: a one-page daily summary of the domestic and global dairy markets, prices, supply and demand fundamentals, and CME cash and futures dairy trading activity.

On the last trading day of the week, the report will include a second page with a more in-depth weekly feature and a summary of dairy product prices and trading activity for the week.

Although summaries of recent market activity are valuable to readers, Ledman wants the Daily Dairy Report to take the next step as well. The report should also “connect the dots,” as she puts it, explaining to readers which data points are important – and why.

Daily Dairy Report analysts will explain “why this information matters to producers, manufacturers and end-users of dairy products,” Ledman says.

“Our focus is on making the report even easier to read with expert, timely insight on the daily markets and trading as well as analysis of the government price, production and supply reports,” Ledman says.

To do this, Ledman has put together a team experienced in providing critical analysis - Sara Dorland, Sarina Sharp and Karen Endres.

As managing partner in Ceres Dairy Risk Management, LLC, Dorland specializes in providing risk management services to businesses within the agriculture sector, with a focus on the dairy industry.

Formerly, Dorland worked 10 years at Darigold, Inc., in both the ingredients division and risk management teams.

Sharp manages risk for feed, milk and beef for her family’s Michigan, Indiana and Ohio dairy operations.

She also worked as a commodity broker and research analyst at the Nesvick Trading Group in Memphis, Tennessee, where she published daily reports about commodity market news and fundamentals, focusing in the grain, oilseed and beef markets.

Endres is a communications specialist who has received awards in her field and co-owner of a family-owned, modern dairy operation.

Endres has been part of the dairy industry for more than 15 years. For nine years, she was the director of communications and marketing at Alto Dairy Cooperative. She also worked in national and international marketing for the U.S. dairy industry at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection.

Ledman’s three decades of experience in the dairy industry includes production, processing and policy. She has worked for two different USDA departments - Foreign Agricultural Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Ledman’s roles in the private sector include positions as manager of dairy economics for Kraft Foods USA, manager of strategic planning and financial reporting for Kraft International in Germany and director of materials planning for Stella Foods (now Saputo) in Illinois.

This is not Ledman’s first experience with the Daily Dairy Report. From 1999 to 2004, she was its co-editor, sharing the role with Alan Levitt.

When Ledman moved on to other projects, Levitt continued to edit the Daily Dairy Report - until his recent move to the U.S. Dairy Export Council, where he is currently vice president of communications.

Now that Ledman has taken full ownership of the report, Levitt says, “I like what I’ve seen so far. They’ve made some nice improvements.”

For more information about the Daily Dairy Report, or to subscribe, click here. PD