Industry News

Barbara O’Brien, president and CEO of Dairy Management Inc. and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, said agriculture has an “open door of opportunity” amid growing pressures and expectations to feed a growing population sustainably and responsibly during her opening comments at the Sustainable Agriculture Summit, Nov. 17-18.

Digest Highlights

• Home-centric meals support October retail dairy sales
• December 2021 Class I base price moves above $19
• September 2021 fluid sales: Same story
• USDA buys string cheese, seeks 19 million pounds of cheese
• EPA unveils revised definition of ‘Waters of the U.S.’
• Dairy invests in projects to reduce GHG emissions
• Following up: Farm Credit East merger

National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) leaders and staff updated cooperative delegates on policy issues critical to dairy during the organization’s annual meeting.

The USDA’s monthly Milk Production report was highlighted by a continued drop in cow numbers and weakness in milk production per cow. Those two factors resulted in a year-over-year decline in milk production.

Digest Highlights

• Changes to DMC program should be announced soon
• GDT price index continues to climb
• USDA buys dairy products, seeks millions more
• Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives grants awarded
• Following up: Strikes coming to end

Preliminary results from an online survey of dairy producers found strong support for a return to the “higher-of” Class I mover pricing formula, even though in recent months producers have realized a small net benefit from the “average-of plus 74 cents” formula that replaced it in 2019.