In late January, Hoard's Dairyman had the opportunity to speak at the University of Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum in Madison, Wis. While the initial conversation between Wisconsin Ag Secretary Ben Brancel and I focused on the renaissance of Wisconsin's dairy industry, the conversation turned toward export markets as demand for dairy is surging around the globe. While I talked about my recent travels to the Middle East, Secretary Brancel focused on a trade mission he made to China. Those two markets happen to be the two largest dairy import markets in the world.
After our presentations, Mike Austin, who is the ag reporter for WFRV-TV Channel 5 out of Green Bay, Wis., sat down and discussed dairy markets even further. Watch the two-minute video courtesy of Mike Austin and WFRV-TV above.
As the video points out, less than a decade ago, U.S. dairy imports and exports were almost equal. Today, we export nearly 16 percent of our milk production and import only 3 percent . . . that's a net sale of 13 percent. Total export value is projected to be $6.7 billion once the December data gets reported.
Jim Massey, editor of The Country Today, also reported on our talks at the Ag Outlook Conference. To read his account, click on this link.
