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Livestock, Dairy and Poultry
Outlook (monthly) provides key dairy data, market outlook, and
forecasts.
Characteristics, Costs, and Issues for Organic Dairy Farming (November 2009) uses 2005 ARMS data for U.S. dairy operations, which include a targeted sample of organic milk producers, to examine the structure, costs, and challenges of organic milk production. Findings suggest that economic forces have made organic operations more like conventional operations and that the future structure of the industry may depend on the interpretation and implementation of new organic pasture rules.
Low
Costs Drive Production to Large Dairy Farms (September 2007) reports
that average production costs per hundredweight of milk
produced fall sharply with herd size. Large dairy farms
earn substantial profits, while most smaller operations
experience economic losses. Given the cost advantages,
the shift of dairy production to large farms contributes
to rising industry productivity and lower real dairy prices.
For the full report, see Profits,
Costs, and the Changing Structure of Dairy Farming (September 2007).
Retail
and Consumer Aspects of the Organic Milk Market (May 2007) analyzes
retail scanner data from 2004 and finds that most purchasers
of organic milk are White, high income, and well educated.
Consumer interest in organic milk has burgeoned, resulting
in rapid growth in retail sales of organic milk. Most
organic milk is sold in supermarkets, and organic price
premiums are large and vary by region.
U.S.
Dairy at a New Crossroads in a Global Setting (November 2005) highlights
changing economic and policy forces facing the U.S. dairy
industry today. As dairy markets evolve, U.S. milk producers
and processors are in a position to pursue both domestic
and export market opportunities. For the full report,
see U.S. Dairy at a Global
Crossroads (November 2006).
Impacts of Trade Liberalization
on the U.S. Dairy Market (August 2006) reviews the economic effects
of trade liberalization in world dairy markets by examining
effects on farm milk prices and production, producer and
consumer surpluses, and government revenues and program
expenditures. The empirical analysis suggests multilateral
trade liberalization leads to generally modest price and
production impacts on U.S. milk producers.
Dairy
Backgrounder (July 2006) reports that shifts over time in
consumer demands, the location and structure of milk production,
industry concentration, international markets, and trade
agreements have dramatically altered the U.S. dairy industry
and changed the context for dairy policies and the sector
as a whole. In the future, the U.S. dairy industry is
likely to become more fully integrated with international
markets.
Trade Liberalization in
International Dairy Markets: Estimated Impacts (February 2006) examines
issues related to modeling complex policy regimes that
affect international dairy markets. Average bound tariffs
for dairy remain among the highest of all agricultural
commodities and dairy trade is characterized by a large
number of megatariffs and tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Modeling
results indicate that liberalization would reduce world
dairy product supplies and increase the value of dairy
trade.
Dairy Policies
in Japan (August 2005) provides a detailed description and analysis
of Japans policies that support its milk producers and
regulate dairy markets. If Japans policies were liberalized,
prices and production in Japan would fall, but sizable
milk production would remain.
Economic Effects of U.S. Dairy Policy and Alternative
Approaches to Milk Pricing (July 2004) shows that the effects
of dairy programs on markets are modest and that current
dairy programs are limited in their ability to change
the long-term economic viability of dairy farms. Other
forces—technology, changing consumer demand, and
changes in the marketing and processing sectors—while
difficult to measure, are likely to have more impact.
(This file is 1.5 MB in size and may take time to download.)
Effects of U.S. Dairy
Policies on Markets for Milk and Dairy Products (May 2004) examines
the economic effects of the principal current dairy sector
programs. The analytical results address the economic
impacts of Federal milk marketing orders, direct payments
to producers, price supports, and export programs.
Manure Management for
Water Quality (June 2003) evaluates the costs of spreading manure
on cropland at the farm, regional, and national levels.
EPA regulations enacted in February 2003 require concentrated
animal feeding operations (generally the largest producers
of hogs, chicken, dairy, and beef cattle) to meet nutrient
application standards when spreading their manure on cropland
in order to preserve water resources from nitrogen and
phosphorus runoff. USDA is encouraging all animal feeding
operations to do the same. If all operations meet the
new standards, increases in production costs could be
felt throughout the food and agricultural system.
The Changing Landscape
of U.S. Milk Production (June 2002) illustrates how milk production
has changed in the United States since 1975. Questions
of how much milk is produced, where it is produced, and
by whom it is produced are important both nationally and
regionally. Dairy farms continue to grow, become more
specialized, and, in some regions, more concentrated.
But small traditional dairy farms also remain part of
the industry.
Milk Pricing in the United
States (March 2001) provides a primer on the U.S. milk market,
cutting through the complexities to describe key pricing
mechanisms and to provide a basis for more detailed study.
Farm milk prices in the United States are determined by
public and private pricing institutions whose interactions
have become complex.
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