Compared to a month earlier, U.S. average feed costs were lower and milk prices were up, pushing the milk income margin up almost $3 per hundredweight from July’s historic low.

The USDA is announcing a second round of payments for dairy producers through the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP), providing an additional $5 million to help dairy producers mitigate market volatility, higher input and transportation costs, and unstable feed supply and prices that have created unique hardships in the organic dairy industry.

With a federal government shutdown possible, October’s dairy risk management calendar has the potential to be scarier than Halloween.

The Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to maintain the interest rate for federal funds at 5.5%.

Dairy producers who dumped milk due to weather-related disasters in 2020, 2021 and 2022 may be eligible for financial assistance.

Although MLP support is targeted for individual producers, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is urging cooperatives that spread losses across their membership to inquire about eligibility.

Private-lender interest rates on agricultural loans are moving higher and so are rates on loans through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

The next meeting of the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is scheduled for Sept. 19-20.

Farm lending activity at commercial banks slowed through the first half of 2023 as interest rates continued to push higher.