Dairy Margin Coverage

December 2020 Dairy Market Report

Clint Thompson Dairy

dairy margin
Filling The Milk Storage Tank In Modern Dairy
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The December 2020 Dairy Market Report is now available and it indicates that 2020 continues to bring turbulent headwinds to dairy demand, which the industry has survived with heightened government support and robust export markets.

The new Dairy Management, Inc. report indicates total domestic commercial use of dairy products posted a small gain during the August–October period, despite the pandemic’s renewed assault on food-service sales. Continued government purchases of dairy products through the Food Box, Section 32 and other programs added significantly to total sales during the period, strengthening milk and dairy product prices. Export growth remains striking, with year-to-date volumes showing a record portion of U.S. milk solids production going abroad.

The U.S. average all-milk price reported by USDA rose $2.30 per cwt from a month before to hit $20.20 per cwt in October. The monthly cheese price reached $2.45 per pound in November, a gain of 16 cents a pound from a month earlier, providing an indication that November’s all-milk price will top October’s.

Forecasts for 2021 are less certain than usual, with divergence between futures markets and government projections based largely on differing demand assumptions related to the course of the pandemic.

See the full report on the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) website, nmpf.org.