Ag Industry Trends & Outlooks

National cattle policy grabbed headlines in August as the market continues to defy principles of economics: beef prices at the grocery store continue to soar while the size of the national cattle herd struggles to keep up. This blog dives into the factors driving these market conditions and the steps producers can take in response.  

For dairy farmers in the Northeast, profitability depends on factors outside their control. Milk prices fluctuate while production costs continue to rise. When milk prices fall below the cost of production, the financial pressure can be considerable and, ultimately, create the conditions that lead to dairy farm exits. 

In response to the variety of significant economic challenges facing dairy producers in the northeast, Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut each administers a unique, local dairy price support program. In this report, Farm Credit East provides an overview of each program and summarizes their key differences and similarities. While all programs respond to similar objectives and have been proven to slow the rate of dairy farm exits in their respective states, the programs differ substantially in funding and design. This report seeks to build a greater understanding of how each program works to support the region’s dairy communities and rural economies.