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’s an update on interest rates from quarter four of 2023 and quarter one of 2024 as reported by four Federal Reserve districts that share data impacting dairy finances.

Dairy producers in non-major dairy states will notice a change to how their Dairy-Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) insurance coverage is determined.

Despite climbing U.S. cheese shipments in March, U.S. dairy exports fell into the red with a 7% slip from a strong year-over-year performance in February. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s 30,000-foot view at dairy-related export categories.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report April 30, which includes feed costs used to calculate March Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments. Consistent feedstuff prices and a slight improvement in the all-milk price brought the average milk income margin to $9.65 per hundredweight (cwt).

As predicted, milk prices recovered some in April with Class III at $15.57 per hundredweight (cwt) during the last full week of the month and futures jumping more than $1 for May and June. Unpredictability is still expected in the marketplace, and producers are encouraged to enroll in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) safety net program.

The U.S. dairy product export market rebounded in February with export volumes lifting for the first time in over a year. Cheese was the shining star with historic volumes recorded. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s 30,000-foot view at dairy-related export categories.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report March 28, which includes feed costs used to calculate February Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments.

Here's Progressive Dairy’s look ahead at important dates, reports and advice affecting risk management decisions, as well as other information impacting your milk check in April.