Dairy
Milk Marketing Animation
If you or groups you work with have ever wanted to better understand how milk moves in the supply chain and how it is priced, these animations have been developed as resources for agents and others to use and are available through NC State Extension’s YouTube Channel.
Part I focuses on the relationships of farmers, milk handlers, processors and what is behind a farmer’s milk check. Part II focuses more on the policy that underpins milk movement and pricing from the farm to the end consumer. These animations are not comprehensive; they are intended for general audiences to gain insights to a complicated worlds of dairy policy and milk marketing.
2020 Dairy Winter Management Series Recordings
October 14: DMC and Dairy-RP for 2021 Recorded Webinar
- Christine Brodeur, DFA Risk Management
- Rodney Young, Jr., NC Farm Service Agency
November 18: Consumer Preferences & Supply Chain Response
- Phil Plourd, Blimling & Associates
December 9: Processing Innovations, Trade Talk & Policy
- Kevin Ellis, Cayuga Marketing
- Dr. Bill Herndon, MS State University Emeritu
Southeast Dairy Risk Management Workshop Series
Dairy Risk Management Education Workshops for NC, SC and VA farms were held on May 29th (Roanoke, VA) and 30th (Belmont, NC) as part of a grant collaboration with NCSU, VA Tech and Clemson Extension. Sara Dorland was the main presenter. Sara Dorland is the managing partner of Ceres Dairy Risk Management LLC and also manages the Daily Dairy Report. Sara Dorland’s Southeastern Dairy Risk Management Seminar Slides are available here.
As a follow-up to the workshop series, dairy producers in NC, SC and VA may also participate in monthly calls facilitated by the Center for Dairy Excellence in Pennsylvania that are focused on dairy risk management. These calls are brief, usually lasting less than 1/2 hour, begin at noon on the last Wednesday of every month, and can be joined using the information below:
Contact Brittany to Participate in Dairy Gauge
Have you heard about Dairy Gauge?
Extension faculty from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky are gathering data from farms across the region from 2020-2023 that will be aggregated, analyzed, and anonymized to create a multi-state set of data to create a southeastern dairy benchmark. Participants in the program will be provided with an annual report that will include their own data compared to the average/range of all participants. This is a confidential program, and no individual farm information will be released.
Dairy Revenue Protection Meetings
As of October 9, 2018, dairy farmers across the U.S. have a new USDA-sponsored risk management tool in the toolbox. Dairy Revenue Protection protects against unexpected declines in milk revenue, declines in the value of milk or declines in the state or pooled production region-indexed milk production volume.
Under Dairy Revenue Protection a farmer has only five decisions to make:
- The method to value milk in the policy
- The amount of milk production to cover
- The level of coverage (from 70 to 95 percent of the revenue guarantee)
- Which quarterly contracts he/she wishes to purchase
- The optional protection factor
Recording of 9/25 Webinar/Meeting
Discover NC Dairy
Discover NC Dairy is a virtual dairy farm tour that is available for dairy producers, extension agents and agricultural educators from NC State Extension. The video kiosk version had its maiden voyage at the 90th annual NC FFA Convention in Raleigh on June 19-20, 2018. Students and ag teachers alike were able to see videos from real dairy farms in NC and the Southeast that covered everything from the nursery to the milking parlor, and from field crops to waste management. Discover NC Dairy – 360°, an immersive, virtual reality experience for participants, complete with 3-D headsets was debuted at the Mountain State Fair in Fletcher & the State Fair in Raleigh! This project was made possible by a Gore Innovation Grant through NC State Extension and was supported by Ag & Resource Economics & Animal Science Departments, the Dairy Alliance and NCDA&CS. For more information, visit go.ncsu.edu/discover-nc-dairy
Additional Resources
Risk Management Links of Interest
- National Milk Producers Federation – MPP Program
- American Farm Bureau Federation’s Dairy Revenue Protection Insurance
- University of Wisconsin – Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Analyzer
Business Management Tools
The Dairy Profit Monitor, part of the PRO-DAIRY Program at Cornell University, is a business management program that allows dairy producers to enter herd and financial data every month online and at their convenience. Users get an immediate report back on their business on dairy benchmarks, as well as financial parameters. If you are a producer interested in participating in Dairy Profit Monitor, please contact Brittany Whitmire for additional information.
Resources for Dairy Profit Monitor Peer Group
“How to Read” the 12-Month Summary
Calculations for 12-Month Summary
Dairy Facts and Resources
Dairy Market News (USDA-AMS)
2018 NC Dairy Facts (The Dairy Alliance)
2016 Milk Cows in NC, County Estimates (USDA-NASS)
Related Organizations and Efforts
NC Dairy Advantage is an organization created to enhance the value of milk and dairy products produced in NC, enhance the dairy farm family quality of life, increase the volume of milk produced in the state, and support the total number of dairy farms.
- Programs offered by NC Dairy Advantage and supported by NC Cooperative Extension include Farm Assessments and Profit Teams.
- NC Dairy Advantage also provides scholarships to NC dairy producers to support travel and participation in educational and development activities; for information and an application to receive a scholarship, visit NC Dairy Advantage.
- In 2017, NC Dairy Advantage initiated a cost share program with AgStar Financial Services for dairy operations that had contributed in 2016.
If you are interested in participating in any of these programs for your operation, please contact Brittany Whitmire.
Representing the interests of the state’s dairy producers
The North Carolina Dairy Producers Association is a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of the state’s dairy producers on issues from regulation to legislation. NCDPA supports dairy research and education, youth, issues management and promotion.
Sign up for NCDPA’s newsletter for valuable information about and for the dairy industry in NC.
In the news
Jul 29, 2022
From Robots to Customers: Exploring New Opportunities for Dairy Farmers
Assistant Professor Alejandro Gutierrez-Li won a $250,000 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to study Automatic Milking Systems.
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Dec 22, 2021
Supply Chain Issues, Increased Wages and Inputs Pushing Pork Prices Up
Economists from Iowa State University, North Carolina State University and the National Pork Producers Council find the farm-to-wholesale price spread has remained relatively constant the past two years.
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Feb 9, 2022
New Grant Will Explore the Economics of Hog, Poultry Manure Recycling Technologies
Working with other NC State researchers on a new environmental grant, Eric Edwards will assess the economic outcomes of manure recycling technologies.
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Oct 31, 2021
Extension Conference Resources Roundup
Sharing knowledge and research through an annual conference is an activity that makes the Cooperative Extension stronger.
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