The June 18, 2026, post to this site covered the volatility of producer prices. Diary milk production has always been a volatile business. When the milk came from small farms, life was always up and down as the price of crops, milk, eggs, etc. varied. Diary today has become a business with huge farms, technology, and automated facilities. Businesses that are volatile are difficult to manage and the volatility means ups and downs in production and managing volatile prices.

The protein boom, driven by exploding population and income growth, heightened awareness of health benefits, and expanding use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, continues to benefit the U.S. dairy industry. Whey products are an essential part of meeting growing demand for protein, and that is helping prop up farm milk prices, according to Betty Berning, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report. “Dry whey prices have stayed above 60 cents per pound, a historically high price, since Septe

Several previous columns (here and here) referenced some comments made by RCALF Region X Director Eric Gropper in a recent Business Insider video: “We need to fix the market to put some producer confidence back in the game.” That is, the business is at fault for the decline in beef cow numbers over the past several decades. As explained in those columns, Mr. Gropper’s depiction of the beef industry misses the mark. Moreover, the declaration is woefully out of sync with what’s