Feed costs and milk supply and demand are squeezing the income-over-feed-costs margins for dairy producers. The Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) has paid out since corn and soybean prices started to climb last fall, and the drought conditions in many parts of the country have not helped with alfalfa prices. The DMC uses a feed cost formula based on 59 percent corn (bushel * 1.192), 27 percent alfalfa hay (ton * .0152) and 14 percent soymeal (ton * .00817) to subtract from the-all milk price to calculate the margin. Margins below $9.50 per cwt are eligible for payments. Margins of $4.00 per cwt trigger payments, and between $4.50 and $9.50 per cwt producers have to pay premiums for the coverage.
The DMC program was created i...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
