Led by New Mexico, California, Georgia, Arizona and Kansas, 16 states reduced May 2024 milk production a combined 237 million pounds compared to the same month a year ago.

The Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) advanced Class I base price continues to rise, and there’s a change in the Class I mover formula impact, albeit small.

The USDA’s World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report offers forecasts for dairy, beef and feedstuffs. 

Milk checks for May milk production will improve thanks to a big jump in the Class III milk price, propelled by a large increase in the value of protein.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report May 31, which includes feed costs used to calculate April Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments. A $9.60 per hundredweight (cwt) margin was the result of a rally in milk during the second half of the month to offset the steady feed markets.

Monthly dairy cull cow market trends downward in early 2024.

The dairy landscape is seeing rapid, much-welcomed improvements as milk markets rallied in May with Class III futures surpassing $20 per hundredweight (cwt), $4 above April’s prices. Coupled with feed costs receding, dairy margins are looking better for the remainder of the year.

Here is a look at news affecting your dairy's bottom line before the Memorial Day weekend.

The USDA revised the March 2024 milk production estimate slightly higher. With the revisions, both U.S. and major state U.S. production were up about 0.4% from USDA’s preliminary estimates a month earlier.