01/04/08 Washington dairies benefit from exports

Washington Ag January 4, 2008 Washington dairy producers have seen some record prices for milk this year. Shannon Neibergs with the School of Economics at Washington State University says mail box prices to producers could average 19-20 dollars a hundredweight, a sharp increase from 2006. He says export demand has been the driver. Neibergs: "There has been a large demand increase in non-fat dry milk and so with the increased exports of those dairy products it has pulled the milk price up." Neibergs says that export demand is expected to continue because of developments in China. Neibergs: "They have announced the potential for developing a school milk program for their kids so there is a lot of demand optimism through China for milk products. Non-fat dry milk is filling that need and so it has been a big increase and that has led to that increase in the milk price that Washington dairymen are receiving." Neibergs says those higher milk prices helped to offset higher feed and energy costs producers must pay. I'm Bob Hoff.