Despite the desperate situation Wisconsin dairy operators are facing financially, they’re still getting it done when it comes to managing cows and producing milk. Due to the government shutdown, December data was delayed until this week. Federal officials say Wisconsin milk production went up 1% in December with total milk at 2.57 billion pounds. Our farms are doing it with fewer cows too. Statistics show cow numbers totaled around 1.27 million head, down 1,000 from November and 5,000 fewer cows than December 2017. However, each one of the cows that remains in the state is producing about 35 pounds of milk more than she did last year. At the same time milk production is going up, the milk price keeps going down. For December Wisconsin dairies were paid about $16 a hundredweight (cwt.) for their milk. That price was 90 cents less than November and $1.80 less than December of 2017. That $16 represents about $1.38 per gallon at the farm gate. Wisconsin wasn’t alone in the price freefall. Virginia also had a 90 cent drop. In fact all of the 23 major dairy producing states suffered with lower pay prices. New Mexico dairy producers had the lowest price in the country – $14.70 per hundredweight. Michigan dairy producers received an average price of $15.30, while Minnesota dairy was paid $16.30 for their milk.
About Pam Jahnke
Getting up at 2 in the morning might shock some of her listeners, but for Pam Jahnke, it’s part of the business. Born in Northeastern Wisconsin, Pam Jahnke grew up in agriculture. Raised on her family’s 200-acre dairy farm, she learned the “farm work ethic” first hand.
Leave a Reply