Taking a look at the current national dairy supplies, one USDA economist says supplies remain relatively tight amid strong demand.
USDA Outlook Board Chairman, Mark Jekanowski, says the nation’s dairies are turning out more milk, but not as much as expected and not as much as the market would like to see.
“Heifer supplies are relatively tight and cow inventories are lower than we’d probably like to see. Milk per cow is also lower than we’d expect as well, so that’s tightening up supplies,” Jekanowsi notes.
He says that margins are pretty strong as well given the relatively lower feed prices right now. He adds that consumer demand is also higher and shows no signs of letting up. Cheese demand is pushing barrel cheese prices towards record highs last week. Dairy analysts say there are a lot of factors behind the price momentum.
“The momentum behind the barrel price moving to record highs was partly because of 13 consecutive months of lower milk production than the previous year. That has tightened barrel supplies significantly which then cause buyers to become aggressive. Then they began leapfrogging over each other in order to obtain the supplies they need to meet the demand,” says Robin Schmahl, a dairy analyst with AgDairy.
Schmahl notes that the last time barrel cheese prices hit a record was Nov. 2 of 2020 when the price reach $2.53.
Fire Damages Long-Time Ohio Dairy
A community is coming together after a massive fire over the weekend at one of Ohio’s largest dairy farms. The fire broke out Sunday evening at Comp Dairy in Ashtabula County. The farm is home to about 2,000 cows. Amazingly no one was injured in the fire and all the cows made it out safely. It’s reported that 3-4 barns were lost in the blaze.
Community members rallied to come to aid of Comp Dairy on Sunday night with dozens of trailers lining up to move the cows somewhere where they could be fed and milked. They also donated water and food to the 18 fire departments who came to the call.
Comp Dairy has been in operation since 1885. It’s not known what sparked the blaze.
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