August 2026 milk production, the four-class pricing system, and the 2025 Federal Milk Marketing Order reforms Key Takeaways:
U.S. milk production is growing because the herd is larger, not because cows are producing more milk. August output increased 1.7 percent, even as production per cow declined slightly. Most new production is occurring in cheese-oriented or federally unregulated regions. This makes the destination of the additional milk increasingly important because federal pricing varies by end use and region. The 2025 FMMO reforms redistributed revenue unevenly. Fluid-heavy markets generally benefited from higher Class I differentials and the restored higher-of formula, while higher make allowances reduced prices and pool revenue i...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Key Takeaways: The agricultural trade surplus has become a sizable deficit: the balance swung from a $40.1 billion surplus in 2011 to a $40.7 billion deficit in 2025. Imports kept growing while exports lost momentum: between 2020 and 2025, agricultural imports increased 45 percent, compa...
USDA released its October Cattle on Feed report Friday, showing 11.4 million cattle in feedlots with capacity for 1,000 head or more, slightly below last year. September placements were the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, marking the third consecutive month of placements sett...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
