What is Causing Volatility in the Dairy Industry? Digging Deeper – Part I
- ZISK APP
- Jul 22
- 1 min read
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. Managing that volatility requires flexibility, which is costly.
The detail “digging deeper” in volatility will be analyzed in two posts. This post will provide detail in the volatility, and the second post will cover what is causing the volatility.
Butterfat prices per month (Chart I) have varied from highs reaching $3.71 per pound in late 2023 from $1.55 in 2021. That is a change of 139%. Currently, butterfat is worth $1.69 per pound, a drop of 55%.
July 20, 2026
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