While milk production in Europe has been contracting for much of the spring/summer months, dairy farmers in the US have continued to increase production at a very steady rate. With feed corn prices at low levels, US dairy farms have been able to expand supply for relatively little added cost. The latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) show US milk production for the month of June stood at 7.9bn litres, which is a 1.6% increase compared with the same month last year. This brings US milk production for the first six months of 2017 to 47.7bn litres, which is 1.5%, or 700m litres, ahead of the same period last year.
While milk production in Europe has been contracting for much of the spring/summer months, dairy farmers in the US have continued to increase production at a very steady rate. With feed corn prices at low levels, US dairy farms have been able to expand supply for relatively little added cost.
The latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) show US milk production for the month of June stood at 7.9bn litres, which is a 1.6% increase compared with the same month last year. This brings US milk production for the first six months of 2017 to 47.7bn litres, which is 1.5%, or 700m litres, ahead of the same period last year.
The strong rate of milk production growth in the US has served to offset any decline in EU, New Zealand and Australian milk production over recent months.
In Europe, there were two bids for small amounts of skimmed milk powder (SMP) at the latest tender sale of the European Commission’s SMP stockpile. The highest tendered bid came in at €1,750/t, which meant both bids were rejected by the European Commission being below the minimum fixed price.
On the other side of the powder complex, the price of whole milk powder (WMP) continues to hold steady around the €3,000/t mark. At last week’s GDT auction in New Zealand, WMP prices rose ever so slightly (+0.3%) to €2,670/t ($3,115/t).
Futures prices for New Zealand whole milk powder have risen in the wake of the result, with September, October and November contracts for WMP up more than 2% in price (see red line in graph).
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