Despite a recent drop-off in cheese markets, the Class III milk market has been very resilient. At World Dairy Expo, Ever.Ag Principal Mike North credited seasonal tendencies. “We’ve got lower components as we’ve come through the summer. Production has been lower because the cows just aren’t there. We’ve been stressed with some of this bird flu in key geographies around the United States and by the way, now, we sent a bunch of kids back to school sucking milk back into the bottling realm, college kids back to their pizza diet and football launching at the same time.” North said that is why milk prices typically have these peaks in late September into early November. In the past, $20-plus milk prices would have a dramatic impact on production. Strong beef prices, an absence of heifers and an aging cow herd have changed that scenario during the current cycle.
