The Milk-Feed Price Ratio for February was 1.96. That is the pounds of a 16 percent-protein complete ration we could purchase with 1 pound of milk. The ratio for last February was 2.36, higher largely because of much lower feed costs.
For this February's calculation, USDA used a preliminary U.S. All-Milk Price of $18.40 per hundredweight compared to $15.90 a year ago. The imputed feed cost per hundred pounds of milk this February was $9.39 compared to $6.74 a year ago.
Feed prices used for this February were corn, $5.66 a bushel (highest price ever recorded by USDA); soybeans, $12.10 a bushel; and alfalfa hay, $127 a ton.
The income over feed cost for this February was $9.01 . . . up 83 cents from January, but down 15 cents from a year ago.
According to the CME Group's Daily Dairy Report, it looks like there will be no MILC for January and, possibly, not one for February based on current futures prices.
As of yesterday, Class III futures prices were: February, $17.07; March, $19.47; April, $18.07; May, $17.37; and June, $16.90.
March corn on the CBOT was $7.14 a bushel, and May was $17.21. March soybean oil meal was $359 a ton and May was $363.
