DairyBusiness

An (almost) daily recap of dairy information:

Dec. 16, 2009

Dairy Consumer Price Index lower

November retail milk prices were up slightly, but they were offset by lower cheese and butter prices, pulling the November dairy Consumer Price Index (CPI) lower.

November 2009 retail dairy product prices remain well below a year ago, according to CPI data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, November 2009 retail dairy prices were -0.7% compared to October 2009 and -9.0% compared to November 2008. The all food at home CPI for November 2009 was -0.4% from October 2009 and -2.8% compared to November 2008.

Checking out individual products (November 2009 vs. October 2009 and November 2008, respectively): fluid milk: +0.7%; -13.4% [whole milk: +0.9%; -15.8%; other milk: +0.3%; -11.3%]; cheese: -1.6%; -10.3%; butter: -6.6%; -14.9%; ice cream: -0.6%; -1.2%; and “other” dairy products: -1.9%; -5.1%.

PRO-DAIRY sets Winter Dairy Management Workshop Tour

PRO-DAIRY’s 2010 Winter Dairy Management Workshop Tour will feature tools farms can use to optimize farm income by monitoring and managing milk quality, foot health and overall herd wellness.  The tour will stop at 11 locations across New York, Jan. 11-29.  For a look at the schedule and agenda, visit http://dairywebmall.com/dbcpress/?p=5071.

Wednesday’s CME cash dairy product prices

Cheddar blocks: unchanged, at $1.70/lb.

Cheddar barrels: unchanged, at $1.46/lb.

Butter – down 5¢, to $1.40/lb.

Extra Grade nonfat dry milk – unchanged, at $1.40/lb.

Grade A nonfat dry milk – unchanged, at $1.38/lb.

Class III milk futures prices were steady to slightly lower through November 2011.

Corn, soybean and soybean meal futures were all higher.

For today’s market activities on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade, visit http://www.dairybusiness.com/dairybusiness_markets.php.

Thursday on DairyLine Radio

Dairy producers now have online access to the National Dairy FARM program. FARM stands for “Farmers Assuring Responsible Management.” The program was developed by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) with support from Dairy Management Inc.

NMPF’s Chris Galen said an NMPF “New Year’s resolution” is to get farms and marketing systems enrolled in the FARM program, which is a voluntary, nationwide program designed to “bring uniformity to animal care through education, on-farm evaluations, and objective third-party verification.”

Consumers and processors are paying more attention to where food is coming from and the conditions under which animals are kept, Galen said, and “we need to be proactive and play some offense in talking about the good things that dairy farmers are doing every day on their farms.”  For more details, and to listen to the conversation with DairyLine’s Lee Mielke, visit www.dairyline.com.

For a sample copy of Dairy Profit Weekly, or subscription information, visit www.dairyprofit.com or phone: 800-334-1904, ext. 244.

Dave Natzke, Editor