Over the weekend, the four leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees agreed to a provision that extends the current farm bill into next year.

The October DMC margin is forecast at about $9.54 per cwt, above the maximum Tier I DMC coverage level of $9.50 per cwt.

Roughly 40% of all U.S. dairy farms have non-family member employees, and about 70% of those workers are immigrant employees.

National FFA 2023 Agricultural Proficiency Award recipients were named during the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo, Nov. 1-4, in Indianapolis.

The swell of placements in September, along with less marketing, left the U.S. feedlot inventory with a total of 11.6 million head as of Oct. 1, 2023, according to the USDA’s October Cattle on Feed report.

Overall, 81 projects were awarded more than $1 billion under the 2023 RCPP, administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

With improving milk prices and margins and tightening cow numbers, average prices for U.S. replacement dairy cows moved to an eight-year high in October.

Struggling cheese and protein prices weakened the Class III price, offsetting strong butterfat and Class IV prices and widening the Class III-IV price spread, adding substantial Class IV depooling incentives.

Here is a brief look at the news affecting dairy producers as October 2023 comes to a close.