Milk Outlook

Milk prices continue to be a challenge, but the MILC program provides some assistance to smaller dairy managers as the February payment was $1.51 and March may be $1.93 to $2.06 per one hundred pounds (cwt). The Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures prices (class III) have also improved with May listed at $11.40, July at $13.37, September at $15.00, and November at $15.23 per cwt.

Continue culling unprofitable cows (under 45 pounds of milk) and fine tune input costs. Cull cow prices remain stable at 44 cents a pound as more cows go to market.

Another CWT herd buy-out program has also been announced with sign-up this spring until May 1st. A larger number of farmers are expected to submit bids deciding to leave the U.S. dairy industry. Dairy managers submit a price per 100 pounds of milk. If selected, they sell their herd of dairy cows as cull cows and can also sell replacement heifers. If the dairy manager enters the program, she/he can not re-enter dairy industry for one year.

Dairy Webinar 1: Managing the Dairy Replacement Herd

"Managing the Dairy Replacement Herd" webinar is designed to address the importance and renewed interest in heifer management. This heightened awareness is due to higher costs of raising heifers, the increased demand for higher milk production in younger cows, and the need to improve dairy cow longevity resulting in greater total productive life. The webinar will discuss the importance of quantity, quality and timing of colostrum intake, acquiring and monitoring suggested heifer growth rates, review of production costs, and improving the health and productivity of the replacement as a dairy cow. The profitability of dairy replacements can be significantly credited to the growth and health conditions in their first 22 to 24 months of life. The 40 minute webinar presentation will be conducted by Dave Fischer, Mike Hutjens and Dick Wallace, U of I Extension Dairy specialists.

Title: Managing the Dairy Replacement Herd

Date: Wednesday April 8, 2009

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CDT

Register at: http://tinyurl.com/DairyReplacement

Dairy Webinar 2: Strategies for Cull Cow Management: Reducing your Risk of Antibiotic Residues.

The third University of Illinois Dairy Webinar is scheduled for May 1st from noon to 1 pm CDT. "Strategies for Cull Cow Management: Reducing Your Risk of Antibiotic Residues" is designed to address current issues in cull cow management. The heightened awareness of animal welfare issues with cows sent to slaughter and the potential for antibiotic residues in cull cows is driving this webinar. Following the National Milk Producer's Federation Top 10 Considerations for Culling and Transporting Dairy Animals to a Packing or Processing Facility will be discussed. Evaluating options for on-farm feeding of non-lactating market cows will be presented. The 40 minute webinar presentation will be conducted by Dick Wallace, Dave Fischer and Mike Hutjens, U of I Extension Dairy specialists.

Date: Friday, May 1, 2009

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 pm

Registration at: http://tinyurl.com/CullCowMgmt