By  E. W. Lang

Dairy cows are a hot commodity these days.  At Premiere in Withee, Wisconsin, this week five loads of fresh young cows averaged $2450.  One-hundred cows sold from $2000 to $3000 while registered Holstein bulls sold from $1500 to $2500. 

$2500 is what Dad got for the 2x All-American bull, Oak Ridge Ormsby, when he went to Curtiss Breeding Service in 1967.  That was also the year all milk producers had to go to bulk tanks, as milk in cans was no longer accepted from Grade A herds.  Those Ormsby dollars were enough for a pipeline and a bigger bulk tank.  In addition, local milk went only two miles to a Grade A Butter plant, while today milk two hours south of here is finding a home three hours north of here. 

 I can go on about the changes over 55 years, but I think most of my readers are familiar with the march of time, and changes that abruptly alter the economics of milk production, much as have events of recent years.  Today, traditional dairy herds are enjoying some better milk prices, particularly when growing their own feed stuffs on unencumbered land or land rented at two-year-old lease rates.  But outdated facilities with high labour demands will, one way or another, be retired over the next few years.   Dispersal numbers indicate that producers are cashing out now as cow prices are over double the last few years.   

People producing milk need to consider not just near-term cash flow before depreciation and unpaid labour, but also if their mode of operation is sustainable economically, not emotionally when everything is accounted for.

My Amish friends have got out of milking in the last 30 years because, largely, antiquated milking technology doesn't allow for enough profit to pay for anything, much less justify a milk truck backing in the lane.  The Amish community is a tight order, they count and account, and make decisions within their own social standards.  I suspect that their hopes and dreams for unicorns and rainbows are restricted largely by scriptural doctrine and good accounting, not fostered by the idea that they have a right to make a living milking cows with obsolete facilities and methods. 

Block cheese was up three cents this week.  Barrels were up 12 and butter was up seven cents per lb.  Dry Whey gained a couple cents but is still 25% under where is was a couple months ago, unlike cheese and butter which are at or near contract highs. 

Milk-Feed Indices are in the $11 range, off one or two bits since Friday, last.  Milk is up, but corn and soybean meal was up a little more for May, 33 cents per bushel and $18 per ton, to be exact.  $11 is historically high-normal, but not real high.  When home grown feed, all depreciation and all labour is figured in, $11 doesn't get very many dairies back to zero on the big ledger very fast.

Class III Milk Futures for April, May and June average $24.56 per cwt., a gain of 36 cents for the week.  Class IV was up 11 cents for those months, and averages $25.23 per cwt.