As printed in our October 10, 2017 issue . . .

WITH DAIRY COW NUMBERS UP 71,000 head over the past 12 months, milk production continued to expand this August and reached 18.1 billion pounds, nationally. Of the top 23 dairy states, 17 grew milk output when compared to the same time last year, reported USDA.

WISCONSIN GREW 1.2 PERCENT, while California fell 0.7 percent. Three additional western states also reduced milk flow — Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Utah led all gainers, up 10.2 percent; Texas, 9.2 percent.

CLASS III FUTURES SLID NEARLY $1 per cwt. in the past 60 days with strong production in the U.S. and most other major dairy exporters.

FOURTH QUARTER FUTURES FELL 95 CENTS from August to September trading to settle at a $16.40 average, while January to June 2018 Class III CME contracts dropped 80 cents to reach a $15.90 midpoint.

AN $18.05 ALL-MILK PRICE has been forecast by USDA for the upcoming year. The projected range was $17.55 to $18.55 per hundredweight. This forecast remained on trajectory of May’s opening estimate.

BUTTER STOCKS CONTINUE TO DRAW DOWN with August inventory 12.1 percent lower when compared to the same month last year. This trend has been taking place since April and has buoyed butter prices.

WITH 3 BILLION POUNDS MORE MILK being produced in the U.S. each year, growth in dairy processing capacity has not kept pace, reported CoBank. Given growth trends, it’s estimated an additional 27 billion pounds of capacity will be needed over the next decade.

DAIRY COW CULLING CLIMBED 4.2 PERCENT during the first eight months of the year to reach 1,986,700 cows. In August, 265,600 cows were sent to slaughter and that pace was up 7.9 percent compared to last year.

HOW CALIFORNIA’S CLASS I QUOTA might be handled should the state join the Federal Milk Marketing Order system could be known soon. The quota pays producers a $1.70 premium per hundredweight for qualified production and that quota has a $1.2 billion market value.

A $15 MILLION GRANT FOR A BIOENERGY PROJECT received approval by Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission. BC Organics, winner of the grant, is expected to spend $60.3 million to process manure from nine dairy farms located near Brown County with 22,000 animal units.

CHINA COULD OVERTAKE THE U.S. by 2022 to become the largest dairy market, predicted Euromonitor International. Currently, the U.S. has 21.8 percent of the world’s retail dairy sales with China at 18 percent. By 2022, China could rise to 20.4 percent with the U.S. falling to 20.1.

NEW ZEALAND’S GLOBAL DAIRY TRADE WILL LAUNCH a U.S. lactose-seller pool this December. The organization indicated strong selling interest has been expressed by Agropur, Hilmar, and Valley Queen.

In our next issue . . .

THE SUPER 8 DEFINE MODERN DAIRYING.
Eight phases capture dairy’s evolving business landscape since 1900. Each phase has a shorter window with change occurring at an accelerating pace.

ELECTROLYTES CAN SAVE LIVES.
When used correctly, electrolytes help calves overcome diarrhea, the number one cause of death in calves.

UTTER DESTRUCTION.
A disastrous tornado ripped apart a Michigan dairy, scattering remnants over a seven-mile area. Quick and thoughtful action by many individuals helped revive the farm in six short months.

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