By  E. W. Lang

Milk producers are waiting on an additional government subsidy that adjusts for hay costs, and another Dairy Margin Coverage program change that allows new producers to update their production history.  Both of these updates are retroactive to January, 2020, and will amount to a lot of money to eligible producers.  Some months ago, USDA said details related to this 'pandemic-related dairy assistance' were going to be out about State Fair time, but the show season is now over. Milk producers need to know and want their money.  Someone at National Milk said maybe in a week or so we will hear something.

Anyway, here are a couple things to remember regarding this thing and all things taxpayer benevolent.  The odd year state election was a couple weeks ago, the off year election is still a year out, and the White House election is three years out.  The federal government, in this case the USDA specifically, has little incentive to do anything for cow milkers right now. 

Cash grain producers are enjoying record incomes and the greatest run up in land values since the time of Christ.  Milk producers, however, can no longer fill every seat at Michigan Stadium, even if they could ever agree on what game to go to.  As such, milk producer interests and milk producer votes aren't a high priority.  As least not as long as there aren't dairy farmers in the streets with pitch forks, or pulling around those liquid manure tankers that spray up and out the back. The green ones.

Government farm subsidies serve a cluster of purposes.  They stabilize prices and food availability to some extent, ever since Joseph and the Pharaoh’s ever-normal granary in ancient Egypt.  Subsidies also better enable people to get out of food production (quit farming) in a more orderly fashion, rather than everyone calling the auctioneer on the same day after one or more commodities crash and desperation gets its grip. 

Finally, farm subsidies can influence congressional elections by creating good news from a candidate to the hard working American farmers in his or her congressional district.   The number of congressional districts, however, that have enough farmers to affect a vote is a tiny fraction of the number of districts 70 years ago. 

This is why it is essential that ADC and SNAP stuff (food stamps. etc.) are a part of the farm bill.  If there were no hungry welfare recipients served by the USDA, farm subsidies and the Ag Department would enjoy little interest from any White House administration, regardless of their romantic campaign promises to farm families.  Remember, welfare recipients vote, and they can fill every football stadium in the United States on any day and not care who's playing.  That's a lot of votes that affect our well being, not just theirs, and I say that knowing that many livestock farmers and ag workers are eligible for food assistance.    

Next week, I'll share how most all hard working Americans want what amounts to a welfare state, but paid for with dollars borrowed from future generations.

USDA announced a few days ago that national milk production in October was down 0.5% from a year ago.  That surprise jolted the markets for a bit. 

Block cheese gained 11 cents this week to close at $1.86 per lb.  Barrels gained all of two cents at $1.52.  Class III Milk Futures for November lost four cents for some reason, and December went from $17.62 last week to $18.57 this week.  Note that December dropped to $17.21 on Tuesday then gained $1.36 in three days.  January to June Class III Futures average $19.09 per cwt., up four bits, plus change.  The January to March Milk-Feed Index gained 60 cents at $8.58 per cwt.