U.S. dairy prices weakened during June, largely driven by competition in the export market and continued strong growth in U.S. milk production. The July 2026 CME Class III milk price futures peaked at $19.02 on April 27, but by June 25 it was at $15.71. The July 2026 CME Class IV milk futures also lost about $3.00 between June 1 and June 25. This has been a disappointing decline for U.S. dairy farmers. On the supply side, milk production growth has slowed, but we’re still gro

The previous column highlighted some discussion around cowherd expansion (or lack thereof). The discussion included comments from RCALF Region X Director Eric Gropper in a recent Business Insider video. He blamed the decline in cow numbers on the business: “We need to fix the market to put some producer confidence back in this game.” The column detailed the influence of the business and weather on year-over-year changes in beef cow inventory. The outcome being this summary:

The chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation says increased global demand continues to drive record U.S. dairy exports. Brian Rexing tells Brownfield, “Some other countries have had some issues with production,” he says. “Luckily, we have the technology in our plants to make products that are attractive. When you have the demand for something and we can supply it, and we can facilitate it, the U.S. is going to make it happen.” He says there are also opportunities to