Here is a look at news affecting a dairy producer's bottom line this third week of December 2024.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the second round of states coming on board as part of its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) that was launched Dec. 6.

In the news as we approach the middle of December, a federal committee upholds dairy dietary guidelines, dairy farmers are invited to apply for financial incentives to implement climate-smart practices, farm income falls $41 billion in two years, and the first HPAI-positive dairy case is found in Nevada.

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

The USDA issued a new federal order on Friday, Dec. 6, that requires raw (unpasteurized) milk samples nationwide be collected and shared with the USDA to test for the prevalence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1.

In the past decade alone, domestic per-capita consumption of cheese is up 19% and per-capita butter consumption is up 18.1%.

Here is what is happening in dairy-related news as we start the final month of the year: Fluid milk sales declined in September, Trump nominates Brooke Rollins for secretary of agriculture, Holstein updates pedigrees with slick gene label, and new dairy innovations are promoted.

Here’s an update on interest rates from quarter three of 2024 as reported by Federal Reserve districts that share data impacting dairy finances.

As we look to the last month of the year, milk prices are trending lower than the previous months’ highs with milk production up year over year, new cheese plants online and holiday buying finishing up noted as a few influencing factors. Yet margins continue to look favorable.