Milk prices and the Dairy Margin Coverage Program margin both ended four-month streaks of improvement in December, with DMC finishing the year with its lowest calendar-year margin since the present dairy safety net system was established over a decade ago. Meanwhile, U.S. dairy exports in 2023 saw the third-highest proportion of U.S. milk solids output shipped ever for the whole year – a notable achievement, but at a slower pace than its record-breaking first quarter export percentage. Stocks of most key dairy products fell in December, as milk and milk solids production growth remained lower than demand increase.
