During the period of August to October, the domestic commercial use of milk in all products continued to grow. This helped keep prices up, even though production was also going up. From July to October, U.S. milk production has gone up compared to the same time last year, but at a slower rate each month. On the other hand, the number of dairy cows in the U.S. has gone up steadily compared to a year ago, which suggests that milk production could go up even more in the coming months.
Since February of this year, total U.S. dairy exports have been more than the equivalent of 18 percent of U.S. milk solids every month, putting the industry on track to beat last year’s record of 17.3 percent. Milk prices are expected to be at least $25.50 per cwt this year, which is much higher than the previous record of $24.00 per cwt set in 2014. The Dairy Margin Coverage programme margin could drop below $9.50 per cwt again in December, and it’s likely to stay below that level until at least 2023.
