The United States Department of Agriculture reported this afternoon that the U.S. all-milk price for June was $14.80/cwt, up 30¢/cwt from May but down from $17/cwt in June 2015. The all-milk price includes quantity, quality and other premiums, but does not include hauling subsidies.
Michigan’s all-milk price of $13.70, likely due to a surplus of milk, reported the lowest state all-milk price of the 23 states reporting. California, at $13.82, was second lowest on the list.
Wisconsin came in at the national average of $14.80/cwt; New York was at $15.80 and Idaho, $14.60. The highest all-milk price in the nation was in Florida, at $18.20/cwt.
Less demand for milk means less demand for dairy cows, with cow values dropping 15% on average in June 2016 compared to a year ago. The average dairy cow was worth just $1,730 in June 2016 compared to $2,030 a year ago.
With drought conditions gripping some areas of the Northeast United States, cow values there were among the lowest in the country. Ohio and Pennsylvania were reporting values of $1,550 per head while New York saw prices dipping just below $1,600.