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Dairy farmer margins encouraging investment
A dairy economist says farmers are ending the year with margins close to all-time highs.
Vice President of Global Operations and Insights Alyssa Badger with Highground Dairy tells Brownfield, “Producer margins have been above $10.00 per hundredweight since May and as a result of that we’ve actually seen upward herd revisions at the farm level, along with further indications that even though replacement heifer prices are high producers have the cash on hand to expand.”
She says the added income has been helpful for farms impacted by avian influenza and for building reserves.
Badger says extra processing capacity in Texas and Kansas is also fueling growth as reflected in the latest milk production report.
“The reinvestment on-farm will happen,” she says. “It’s already happened. We saw the Texas herd size jump 10,000 head so clearly someone’s investing and building out their herd sizes.”
She says the cheaper cheese prices should lead to more exports heading into the New Year.
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