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CoBank suggests dairy export records could be topped in 2022

A dairy economist says 2021’s end with strong exports could easily be surpassed in 2022.

“We’re well on our way to ending the year with phenomenal, record-breaking dairy exports.”

Tanner Ehmke with CoBank tells Brownfield logistics remained a limiting factor for the past year but demand held strong.

“Some people are saying that perhaps our exports could have been 20 percent higher,” he estimates.

And China isn’t the only player wanting U.S. dairy products.

“We’re going to see strong demand from China, Southeast Asia, and indeed around the world for the foreseeable future, at least for the first half of 2022, when we have such tight supplies globally,” he explains.

If supply chain backlogs work themselves out this year, Ehmke says cheese and powder will continue to see large moves, and farm gate prices still have upside potential in 2022.