Dairy farmers are milking happily in the US

This is evident from data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Milk production in the United States for the 24 most important states amounts to approximately 8,5 million tons in March this year. That is just under 2% more than in March 2020. This means that milk production in the US is still on the rise. To illustrate: for the whole of 2020, American milk supplies increased by 2,8% compared to 2019.

After the traditional numerical dip in February (due to the low number of days), the 31 days of March brought a very strong increase. This is partly due to the growth of the American dairy herd. In March of this year, this was 1% higher, or 93.000 more animals, than in March 2020. The average milk production per cow, at just under 947 kilos, was also about 0,9% higher than in March of the previous year.

More demand from the catering industry
The result of high milk production is that the milk price is under pressure. The production of butter, cheese and skimmed milk powder has never been so high. There is, however, slightly more demand for dairy in the catering sector. More and more restaurants are being opened due to the relaxation after the lockdown, which means the market is also expanding.

The United States will soon also start the 'Dairy Donation' program, which should ensure that surplus milk can be donated to food banks. Dairy farmers can participate in this program and must meet certain requirements.

The USDA expects an increase of just under 2% in 2021. This milk production could put more pressure on the price of cheese and butter and therefore also the milk price. A positive thing for the Americans is that skimmed milk powder prices are rising due to an increase in exports.