By  E. W. Lang

Class III and Class IV milk futures stayed in record territory this week while Milk-Feed Indices remained at normal levels or a little higher.  March, April, May and June Class III averages $23.55 per cwt. right now while those four months on Class IV average just over $25 per cwt. 

Milk Feed Indices run from $10 to $10.45 for the next four months while July, August and September are running a dollar over that. 

Local corn here in Iowa is well over $7 per bushel and over $6 for fall delivery.  Higher diesel prices will visit milk haulers, and they will be asking to increase their hauling rates.  I know of milk being hauled from south-center Iowa well into Wisconsin for processing, a trip of over 300 miles, so that can't be cheap.

Fresh Holstein cows topped out at $2225 per head for a load out of South Dakota at the Turlock, California, video sale last week.  Holstein and Jersey fresh cows were largely off $25 per head from a month ago, along with the Jersey springers.  But the Holstein springers averaged $1810 and that was $200 higher than the February sale. 

Dairy cows slaughtered remain below numbers from a year ago. 

Farmland continues to come to auction and continues to tick up with each passing day.  I think this ends when we have one population owning land and another population farming the land. 

In the U.S a majority of people own their own homes, and in Canada, 74% of the population rents their home.  Without getting into the emotional component of owning a home or a farm, I would point out the benefit of having a revokable farm base or residence that quickly can enable a person to relocate to a better situation.

Let us remain mindful of our dairy brethren in Ukraine.  I have to imagine there are farmers milking their cows and running the milk down the creek as there is no one to haul it, bottle or process it.