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Analyst says the return of whole milk to schools could help boost dairy demand

A dairy market analyst says expanded school milk options this fall could help boost long-term demand.

Sarah Jungman with AgMarket.net says more than 30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program each year.

“It won’t be an immediate action as schools are trying to figure out what the children are going to choose and then adjust based on those orders,” she says. “Since it’s been so long since we’ve had those options, I think it could be really big.”

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, signed into law earlier this year, allows schools to offer whole and 2 percent milk alongside traditional skim and low-fat options for the first time since 2012.

She tells Brownfield continuing to find new uses for dairy will be critical as farmers increase production.

“We still have a lot of milk,” she says. “But, if there is a supply issue anywhere, not just here in the United States, it could cause some really big fireworks,” she says. “Now that we’ve entered these new markets, I think the demand is what is going to cause us to have a good picture in the long term.”

Jungman says logistics and operational timing could influence how fast schools adjust to the new requirements.