The impact of “Other” Fluid Milk
The USDA report on sales of fluid milk lists categories such as whole milk, 2% milk, 1% milk, etc. There is one category, “Other”, which is a “catch all” for everything that does not fit in one of their categories. Traditionally, this category was very small, but it has increased by almost 600% in the […]
Too Much Milk and Too Many Cows
The milk cow population in the U.S. has grown significantly in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 (Chart I). During this time the milk cow population has grown by 3%. As covered in prior posts, domestic consumption of most dairy products is not growing. The trend for increased milk cows is not showing any […]
Cheese Domestic Consumption is not Growing, But Production is Growing.
More than half of U.S. milk is used for Cheese. Dairy farms supplying the cheese producers are paid primarily on the value of milk protein and butterfat components. As covered in prior posts, the farm revenue from milk protein and butterfat are currently low. The price of milk protein is based on the cheese price […]
“Beef on Dairy” Continues to Expand Innovation to Improve Producer Revenue
The October 30, 2025, post to this blog covered “Beef on Dairy” growth. This post is six months later, updating “Beef on Dairy” growth. Data for this analysis is from many sources and some of the data conflicts, but regardless, there is significant growth in “Beef on Dairy.” There are three drivers to this growth. […]
More on Producer Prices for Milk
Chart I tracks the Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) prices used for producer payment of butterfat and milk protein in the Federal Orders. It is shown here primarily to highlight the volatility of prices paid to producers. The trend lines show a steady increase in the price of butterfat and the declining price of milk protein. […]
Update on Fluid Milk Consumption
Prior posts to this blog have followed fluid milk sales. Chart I lists total U.S. milk sales. The decline through 2023 has slowed and leveled out in 2024. Unfortunately, the decline in sales has returned. This post will cover what is happening through February 2026. The 12-month moving averages show a record low for total […]
Are Dairy Products Contributing to Inflation?
Inflation for U.S. consumers is above the 2% guideline. Is the price of food contributing? Is the price of dairy products contributing to high prices? This subject was covered one year ago in this “Milk Pay” blog. A year later retail Cheese prices are up a little, fluid milk prices have not changed much, […]
Farms Sizes Continues Growth
Producers in the dairy Industry continue to increase efficiency and lower costs with larger farms. The Census of Agricultural does a survey every five years that includes the size of diary farms. The charts below show the trends over 35 years. The time span is lengthy to provide data that show trends that can predict […]
Are “Other Solids” Increasing Revenue?
Prior posts have focused on producer revenue from butterfat and milk protein as they are the two largest sources of revenue for producers. As shown in Chart I below, revenue from Other Solids is a small contributor compared to butterfat and milk protein. Chart I – Revenue per cow for Butterfat, Milk Protein, and Other […]
Butterfat Prices Continue to Fall. What are Milk Protein Prices Doing?
The prior post showed that the producer price of butterfat is continuing to fall. This post will cover the most recent price trends for milk protein. If both butterfat and milk protein prices are falling, producers will be scrambling for survival. The protein price is dependent on the wholesale cheddar cheese price and the butterfat […]
