Service enrollment for the 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage program will begin Wednesday, Feb. 28. Dairy producers will have until April 29 to complete their enrollment in the voluntary dairy safety net program.

Improved working capital and equity positions in 2022 helped reduce the number of U.S. farms filing for Chapter 12 bankruptcy in 2023. There will likely be additional financial stressors in 2024.

Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) uniform milk prices slipped lower in January, a combination of lower Class I and Class III milk class prices and continued depooling of Class IV milk.

Wherever you are today in your process, there is work to be done to help you prepare for the fruits of your labor, both the hard assets and the two-legged ones, to thrive throughout the next generation.

The USDA’s World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report identifies milk and feed factors potentially impacting dairy producer income in the year ahead.

Here’s an update on news and economic factors impacting your dairy entering the first full week of February 2024.

Tightening cow and heifer numbers pushed average prices for U.S. replacement dairy cows to a nine-year high in January, according to latest USDA quarterly estimates.

The USDA’s semiannual estimate of cattle inventories indicates the number of dairy cows to start 2024 are the lowest in four years.