Articles & guides

An outbreak of a virus fatal to hogs that surfaced last summer shows no signs of stopping. African Swine Fever, nicknamed “pig Ebola,” has expanded from China to neighboring Southeast Asian nations. The virus—and pork… Read more

The gap in price between a 40-pound block of fresh cheddar and a 500-pound barrel has widened steadily over the last two years. At the end of 2018, the average block-barrel spread hovered around $0.12…. Read more

Things are changing for milk producers and handlers in the Golden State. Milk marketing in California fell under the purview of a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) starting Nov. 1. The state order administered by… Read more

The wait is (kind of) over. Trade authorities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada have agreed to a trilateral free trade agreement that replaces NAFTA. The finer points of automotive manufacturing earned most of the… Read more

Global dairy production fuels perhaps the most dynamic and volatile agriculture commodity market. And while dairy products are consumed all over the world, most of the milk at the foundation of those products comes from… Read more

A simple principle of economics is that when production outpaces demand, you either cut production or open new markets. Over the last three decades, the dairy industries in the main milk-producing regions of the world… Read more

New electronic logging rules for motor carriers in the U.S. are now fully effective, and the predicted impact of the ELD mandate is coming true: Capacity is being squeezed and costs are soaring. Just as… Read more

Because dairy markets are so naturally volatile, the reaction among industry stakeholders and the government has been to try to limit the volatility. Methods meant to achieve orderliness have increased —and become more complex— over… Read more

A driving factor in the volatility of the dairy industry is that the quantity and quality of milk produced over time cannot be guaranteed. It depends too much on factors farmers can’t control—though they do… Read more

Commodity markets are naturally volatile. It’s especially true in the dairy industry, where milk and its derivative products are produced, bought, sold and moved on an intercontinental scale based on the ever-changing demands of modern… Read more