THE LAND — APRIL 1/APRIL 8, 2022
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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Culling is increasing as production costs rise This column was written Update” says, “The grain for the marketing week endcomplex continues to rip ing March 25. higher as the war continues to rage unchecked in Faced with balancing what Ukraine. Private analysts would normally be considUKRAgroConsult just ered profitable milk prices released new estimates and against profit robbing feed expect Ukrainian corn and fuel prices, U.S. dairy plantings to drop 29 perfarmers keep weeding out MIELKE MARKET cent year-over-year. They their less profitable cows. WEEKLY also expect all of their other Culling was up slightly from crops to drop significantly By Lee Mielke January and a tad above a as well. Informa year ago. released U.S. estimates USDA’s latest on March 22 and Livestock Slaughter dropped corn plantings report shows an estimated 266,500 to 91.4 millimeter acres — down from head were sent to slaughter under fed- 93.4 last year.” eral inspection in February, up 5,700 Cheddar interests are reportedly from January, and 1,300 head or 0.5 very strong right now, according to percent above Feb. 2021. Culling in Dairy Market News. Contacts say buythe first two months of 2022 totaled ers were hesitant about market price 527,400 head, down 15,100 or 2.8 percent from the same period a year ago. increases as they hovered around $2, but “that hesitancy may have morphed In the week ending March 12, 65,000 into urgency as customers’ pipelines dairy cows were sent to slaughter, ran short and market prices continued down 2,500 from the previous week, northbound.” Spot milk is available for and 3,800 head or 5.5 percent below a most needs with some reports of an year ago. early flush. n The butter marched to $2.8025 per pound on March 23, the highest since The USDA announced the April Feb. 15, but was offered lower on Federal order Class I base milk price at $24.38 per hundredweight, up $1.50 March 25, slipping to $2.795. This is 7 cents higher on the week and $1.02 from March and $8.87 above April above a year ago. There were seven 2021. It is the highest Class I price carloads that exchanged hands. ever, topping the previous high of $24.47 in May 2014, and equates to Butter producers able to source cream $2.10 per gallon, up from $1.33 a year from the West are still finding relative ago. The four-month average stands at pricing deals, says Dairy Market News, $22.15, up from $15.35 in 2021, and while more who take on locally sourced $17.67 in 2020. cream are seeing upticks on multiples. Churning is somewhat busy as spring After falling 6 cents the previous week, cheddar block cheese shot up to holidays approach, though some producers say demand is a little lighter $2.2750 per pound on March 25. This is up 14.5 cents on the week (the high- than expected this close to the onset of est since Nov. 10, 2020) and 55.5 cents spring and the upcoming holidays. above a year ago. The barrels closed at Bullish market prices based on limited supplies, both now and down the line, $2.25, up 22 cents, highest since Nov. have created hesitancy among retail 6, 2020, and 78.75 cents above a year ago. There were eight sales of block on buyers. Food service demand, though, is mostly steady. the week at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and 27 of barrel. Demand for cream continues to pick up in the West as ice cream makers StoneX warns that worries about increase output. Cream is available high labor, feed, and energy costs but tightening as some butter makers posed more of an impact on market participants than the stall in milk pro- use their cream internally rather than duction decline or the stall in interna- sell on the spot market. Butter makers are running busy schedules, though tional demand for products that have labor shortages continue to prevent been driving export volume. full capacity. Food service butter The March 23 “Early Morning demand is steady to higher and retail
MARKETING
is strengthening as customers prepare for the spring holidays. Export demand for butter is steady. Butter makers are working to build inventories in the region, limiting availability. Grade A nonfat dry milk climbed to $1.88 March 24, the highest since Feb. 16, but closed the next day at $1.8525. This is down three-quarter cents on the week, though 68.25 cents above a year ago. There were 24 sales reported on the week. Dry whey finished at 72 cents per pound, down 4 cents on the week and the lowest since Dec. 16, 2021, but 9.25 cents above a year ago. Three cars were sold. n Checking the demand side of things, the March 18 Dairy and Food Market Analyst reports, “Total sales at foodservice and drinking places were up 24 percent year-over-year in January and up an estimated 33 percent in February. Compared to before the pandemic (2020), sales grew by 7.0% in February. Limited-service sales (cheesefriendly) continue to out-perform relative to before the pandemic and were up 15 percent vs. the 2020 level, according to Census Bureau data.” By the way, the Analyst also pointed out that the numbers of ships waiting to be unloaded at West Coast ports is near the lowest level in several months. The average wait time for ships to berth has shrunk to just 11 days after peaking at more than two weeks during December. That port congestion prompted action by lawmakers and one such move was passage by the Senate Commerce Committee of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The legislation garnered praise from the National Milk Producers Federation and the
U.S. Dairy Export Council. The measure also got a thumbs up from the International Dairy Foods Association. Next step is a vote by the full Senate. The IDFA gave a thumbs down, however, to the Food and Drug Administration’s response to its objections and request for a hearing on the final rule to amend and modernize the standard of identity for yogurt released in June 2021. IDFA President Michael Dykes stated, “Last July, IDFA forcefully objected to the FDA’s final rule to amend and modernize the standard of identity for yogurt released in June. In December. IDFA sent a letter to Dr. Woodcock, Acting Commissioner for FDA, reiterating our request for a hearing with FDA to resolve the industry’s objections, along with providing manufacturers sufficient time for compliance. Today, after eight months of waiting, FDA issued a notice staying certain provisions of the yogurt standard of identity final rule. IDFA was able to leverage unique formal rulemaking procedures available to the dairy industry to object and, ultimately, prompt a stay of certain provisions that are detrimental to our industry. Without this lever, an impractical final rule would have gone into effect, damaging yogurt makers, throwing retail establishments into confusion, and limiting choice for consumers. While a stay is helpful at this stage, IDFA’s efforts to reform the yogurt SOI will continue into an inexplicable fifth decade.” Lee Mielke is a syndicated columnist who resides in Everson, Wash. His weekly column is featured in newspapers across the country and he may be reached at lkmielke@juno.com. v
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