The Agriculture Department announced the August Federal Order Class I base milk price at $17.89 per hundredweight, up 71 cents from July, $3.74 above August 2018, and the highest Class I price since January 2015’s $18.58. It equates to $1.54 per gallon, up from $1.22 a year ago. The 2019 Class I average stands at $16.34, up from $14.54 a year ago and 3 cents shy of 2017’s average.

The Agriculture Department’s monthly benchmark milk price has reached the highest level in over a year and a half. The May Federal order Class III price was announced at $16.38 per hundredweight, up 42 cents from April, $1.20 above May 2018, and the highest Class III price since November 2017.

It equates to $1.41 per gallon, up from $1.37 in April and $1.31 a year ago. The year to date Class III average stands at $15.05, up from $14.25 a year ago and compares to $16.05 in 2017. By the way; California’s 4b cheese milk price was $14.90 in May 2018.

The May Class IV price is $16.29, up 57 cents from April, $1.72 above a year ago, and the highest it has been since August 2017. Its five month average stands at $15.81, up from $13.42 a year ago and compares to $14.92 in 2017.
Courtesy: Mielke Market Weekly

Choosing the right service and auction structure specific to your property is the key to selling for value. Joe Gizdic, president of Ranch & Farm Auctions joined us on today’s Dairy Radio to explain how their service enables rural land buyers to bid concurrently live onsite, live online and by phone-in bidding in real time in all 50 states.

The Agriculture Department announced the March Federal order Class III milk price at $15.04 per hundredweight, up $1.15 from February, 82 cents above March 2018, and the highest Class III since October 2018 and equates to $1.29 per gallon, up from $1.19 in February and $1.22 a year ago.

The three-month average is at $14.30, up from $13.87 a year ago but compares to $16.49 in 2017.

The March Class IV price is $15.71, down 15 cents from February but $2.67 above a year ago, and the highest March Class IV price since 2014.

Its three month average stands at $15.68, up from $13.01 a year ago and $15.37 in 2017. Courtesy Mielke Market Weekly

Bob Gray from Northeast Dairy Farmers Cooperatives tells us dairy producers who elected to participate in the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle Program now have the opportunity to participate in the Margin Protection Program (MPP) for 2018. Previously dairy producers who enrolled in the LGM-Dairy Program in 2018 were ineligible to participate in the MPP. Changes made in the 2018 Farm Bill allows producers who enrolled in LGM-Dairy last year to now retroactively enroll in last year’s MPP.

The MPP dairy program offers payments to producers when the all milk price and the national feed cost – – the margin – – fall below a certain dollar level selected by producers.

The highest margin level for the MPP in 2018 was $8.00. Most importantly, sign up started March 25, and ends on May 10th, 2019. Please make a note of this if you are eligible.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says signups for the new Dairy Margin Coverage program will start on June 17th. Bob Gray from Northeast Dairy Cooperatives joined us on today’s Dairy Radio Now with more info:

Lauren Brey runs a dairy operation with her husband in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and also works for Dairy Edge Cooperative in Green Bay. She joined us recently to share her concerns over products that are being labeled milk – but don’t come from a cow.

The National Milk Producers Federation today filed a citizen petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, outlining a labeling solution to the use of dairy terms on non-dairy products as the agency considers public input from a recently concluded comment period.

The petition reinforces current FDA labeling regulations, with some additional clarification, to show how marketplace transparency can be enhanced and consumer harm from confusion over nutritional content can be reduced. It also addresses several specious arguments raised by marketers of vegan foods as part of the ongoing debate on dairy labeling, such as the false idea that creating consistent, clear labeling of non-dairy products would somehow limit the use of dairy terms on products that clearly aren’t marketed as dairy substitutes, such as peanut butter. (The petition may be accessed here.)

The March Federal order Class I base milk price is $15.98 per hundredweight, up 68 cents from February, $2.62 above March 2018, and the highest Class I price since October 2018. It equates to about $1.37 per gallon, up from $1.15 a year ago. The three-month Class I average is at $15.47, up from $14.35 at this time a year ago and compares to $17.03 in 2017. Courtesy Mielke Market Weekly

Connect and visualize your data and make better decisions faster with My Dairy Dashboard. That’s according to CEO Mitch Norby, who joined us on today’s Dairy Radio Now to share the latest.

U.S. milk prices are beginning a slow rebound but have a long way back to profitability. The Agriculture Department announced the January Federal order Class III benchmark price at $13.96 per hundredweight, up 18 cents from December but 4 cents below January 2018. It equates to $1.20 per gallon, up from $1.18 in December and compares to $1.20 a year ago.

The January Class IV price is $15.48, up 39 cents from December, $2.35 above a year ago, and the highest Class IV price since September 2017.

The four week USDA surveyed cheese price used in calculating the month’s Class prices averaged $1.3868 per pound, up 1.3 cents from December. The butter price averaged $2.2343, down 0.8 cent. Nonfat dry milk averaged 95.13 cents per pound, up 4.9 cents, and dry whey averaged 48.05 cents per pound, up 1.2 cents from December. Courtesy of the Mielke Market Weekly