12/22/08 Lower milk prices forecast for 2009

Washington Ag December 22, 2008 The USDA says milk production during November in the 23 major states, which includes Washington, was up 1.4 percent from November of 2007. Production in Washington was up just four-tenths of a percent over a year ago. Output per cow was unchanged from November of 2007 but there were one thousand more dairy cows in the state. In its December supply and demand report the USDA reduced its forecasts for milk production for 2008 and 2009 from last month, but economic weakness both domestically and internationally will affect demand. And USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerry Bange says that means lower prices in 2009. Bange: "Looking at a Class III price now of $14.90 a hundredweight, a Class IV price of $11.20 per hundredweight and an all milk price of $15.35." Bange says that all those prices are down between 15 and 24 percent from the previous year. Members of Cooperatives Working Together, CWT, have committed to fund the program in 2009. CWT is currently in the process of removing 184 dairy herds across the country, with 61-thousand cows that produced 1.2 billion pounds of milk. It's CWT's second herd retirement of 2008. I'm Bob Hoff.