June may be National Dairy Month, but last week’s USDA Milk Production Report showed drops in both U.S. dairy herd and total milk output compared to the prior month.

Milk production in the 24 major states was down 1.0 percent, showing the first yield decline for this month in years. Productivity per cow was 2,011 lbs of milk across the U.S. for the month of May, down 31 lbs from May 2019, with total volume at 18.8 million pounds (down 1.1 percent from May 2019).

The herd also contracted, falling by 12,000 head for the 24-state total and by 11,000 head in the national number, continuing a contracting trend for the dairy herd.

Milk prices and major products here in the U.S. have rebounded by more than 20 percent with cheese prices in particular showing more strength, closing just short of $2.00 per lb for cash-settled futures.

Aug-20 CME cheese, spot


Source: DTN
Posted by: Information Services
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