Posted March 24, 2014
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) reported a successful, profitable year for its dairy farmers and expects the trend to continue this year, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here.
DFA reported net income of $61.3 million for 2013 with net sales totaling $12.1 billion, up 6 percent from 2012. Payments to members for marketed milk rose to $7.9 billion, from $7.3 billion in 2012, “primarily because of a higher U.S. all-milk price, which averaged $20.01 per hundred pounds for the year.” Returns to members totaled $41.9 billion in 2013.
“At DFA, we’re about making sure our members can farm successfully and profitably,” said Rick Smith, president and chief executive officer.
DFA is a national dairy marketing cooperative with over 13,000 members across 48 states.
Dairy farmers are optimistic that this success will continue this year, according to an article by Capital Press available here.
Producers are experiencing the highest milk-feed ratio in five years, said Katelyn McCullock, dairy economist with the Livestock Marketing Information Center. U.S. dairy exports had a record-breaking year in 2013, “up 39 percent on a value basis and up $1.4 billion from 2012.”
Several factors have contributed to this success. The milk-feed ratio for February was 2.55, the first time the ratio has been above 2.0 in two years. Class III milk prices were at a record high in February and Class IV milk prices were at a record high in January. Feed costs are also lower than recent years.
For more information on agricultural cooperatives, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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