03/23/07 US mik production down

US milk production has dropped off a bit this year. BANGE "A drop of two hundred million pounds down to 184.1 billion pounds." Ag Department's World Outlook Board chairman Gerald Bange says the price that farmers get for their milk should increase thanks to increasing export demands. BANGE "For milk products you're looking at a Class III price now of $14.40, that's up 85 cents. Class IV price of 13.30 up 45 cents and the all milk price at 15.35 up 65 cents from our previous forecast and up 19 percent compared to the previous year." Australia's continuing drought has left little competition for US whey products. BANGE "The thing that appears to be driving this primarily is the very, very strong protein demand in the world. We're seeing right now the prices for whey and non fat dry milk are sharply above what they were a year ago. The international demand for protein of course would be basically for human consumption in the form of whey and nonfat dry milk and we really don't foresee an end to that situation anywhere in the near term." It looks like the US House of Representatives will vote this week on the Milk Income Loss Contract program extension. The MILC extension is part of a supplemental appropriations bill that includes emergency disaster assistance to farmers hurt by weather related problems. That bill was sent to the floor last week. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott