Dairy Industry Newsletter

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“The market reality is that the U.S. dairy industry is producing too much of a good thing at this moment in time — the good thing being butterfat,” Geiger said. Butter sales are up 3.7% on a 52-week rolling average, based on Circana and Dairy Management Inc. reports. Real dairy creamers, powered by impressive sales growth from Chobani and other brands, are up 32% in the past 52 weeks. Cheese, the largest user of butterfat, grew at 1.4%. That’s still positive growth, but cheese is not on the pace of previous years. On top of these domestic market conditions, the U.S. has been exporting significant amounts of butterfat. “In 2023, the U.S. exported 77 million pounds of butterfat, and that number climbed to 99 million pounds by 2024,” Geiger said. “Then [in 2025], the U.S. began exporting even more butterfat.” In just the first seven months of 2025, the U.S. exported 134 million pounds of butterfat, he noted. That’s 35% more than all of 2024. And the country had five more months of outbound sales potential. This sales data reconfirms that the U.S. dairies are producing too much butterfat. farmprogress.com/livestock-and-…

Rampant fraud in SNAP program prompts reapplication decision The Trump administration ordered all 40 million SNAP food assistance recipients to reapply Monday, launching a sweeping crackdown on rampant fraud after uncovering benefits to 186,000 dead people and $102 million in losses, vowing to restore integrity to the $100 billion program. Massive Fraud Exposed: USDA data reveals 186,000 deceased recipients, 500,000 multi-state claimants, and over 226,000 bogus approvals, which have fueled a 60% quarterly spike in illicit transactions to $102 million. State Data Mandated: Only 29 mostly Republican-led states have shared recipient info so far, delaying full verification amid nationwide push to curb misuse in high-impact areas like New Mexico and D.C. thecapitalistmag.substack.com/p/massive-welf…

Here’s farmer Charles Goadby @thisfarmlife completely debunking the Treasury and BBC Verify’s misleading impact assessment figures on the Labour government’s inheritance tax on family farms. Worth watching and sharing.

The official Dutch butter price has been cut by €270 to €4,830/t, and WMP is down €60 at €3,300/t. SMP (food) is up €10 at €2,030/t, SMP (feed) is up €20 at €2,050/t, and whey powder is unchanged at €980/t (Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL)

The Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL has today cut their official butter by €50 to €5,100/t, WMP is down €70 at €3,460/t, SMP (food) is down €40 at €2,020/t, and SMP (feed) is down €40 at €2,030. Whey powder is unchanged at €980/t

The IFE institute’s est. average EU raw milk value is down 0.4c this week to 34.6c/kg at the farmgate level, based on official butter and SMP prices in Germany, France and the Netherlands. The average for SMP is down €10 to €2,057/t, and butter is down €67 at €5,323/t

The Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL has today cut its official butter price by €180 to €5,150/t, WMP is down €30 at €3,580/t, SMP (food) is down €60 at €2,060/t and SMP (feed) is down €30 at €2,070/t. Whey powder is up €30 at €970/t, its fourth consecutive increase

The German IFE institute’s weekly estimated average EU raw milk value is down 0.6c to 35.3c/kg at the farmgate level, based on official butter & SMP prices in Germany, France & the Netherlands. The average for SMP is down €25 at €2,097/t and for butter down €73 to €5,390/t

The Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL has this week cut its official butter price by €500 to €5,600/t, its lowest level since Feb 2024. WMP is down €210 at €3,820/t, SMP (food) is down €50 at €2,250, SMP (feed) is down €70 at €2,210/t and whey powder down €10 at €900

The weekly IFE institute’s estimated average EU raw milk value is down 2.4c to 39.2c/kg at the farmgate level, based on official butter & SMP prices in Germany, France and the Netherlands. The average price for SMP is down €56 at €2,257/t and for butter down €442 at €5,915/t

The Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL has this week cut their official butter price by a whopping €360 to €6,100/t, its lowest price since May 2024. WMP is DOWN €10 at €4,030/t, SMP (food) DOWN €40 at €2,310, SMP (feed) DOWN €70 at €2,280/t and whey powder DOWN €30 at €910/t

The Kiel, Germany-based IFE institute’s est. average EU raw milk value is up 0.1c at 45.3c/kg at the farmgate level this week, based on official butter & SMP prices in Germany, France & the Netherlands. The SMP average is up €17 at €2,377/t and for butter up €3 at €7,063/t

The Dutch Dairy Board has cut its official butter price by €40 to €6,960/t—the 8th drop running and the first time below €7,000/t since July 2024. WMP was down €20 at €4,130/t. SMP (food) was up €10 at €2,350, and whey powder up €20 at €890. SMP (feed) stays at €2,400/t

FINAL PONDER If they can’t supply Pret, how will they supply Ayrshire’s schools? Look closely at a Pret-A-Manger bottle of organic milk and you’ll see a code on the bottom left: GBOR004. Every milk bottle in the UK has a code that tells you exactly where it’s bottled. For example supermarkets don’t have their own dairies, but their name’s on the label - the code is how you find out the true source... GBOR004 is Yew Tree Dairy in Skelmersdale, taken over by Müller last year. A couple of weeks ago, Pret began putting signs in UK stores warning there’s an organic milk shortage and that the milk in your coffee may not be organic. This isn’t new. Last winter, some supermarkets pulled organic dairy lines because dairies couldn’t source enough milk. The reasons are stacking up: some organic farmers left during Covid due to low returns, a drought in the south has restricted production, and since “Bovaer” hit the headlines, demand for organic milk has surged. Here’s the point - if Müller, who own Yew Tree and supply Pret, are already struggling to meet demand why have they bid for a contract with East Ayrshire Council that requires even more organic milk? And if organic supply is tight, why undercut a much smaller dairy - they could charge what they liked. It’s not the first time they’ve been here. In 2019, when Müller supplied North Ayrshire nurseries with organic whole milk, they suddenly pulled the supply with no notice, switching the whole council back to conventional despite the contract being for organic. The council asked us to help at the time, but couldn’t, we were too small. But it showed us how quickly Big Dairy can break commitments without consequence. Today, Pret customers are being told organic milk is short, while Müller adds new demand to their supply chain. What must Pret A Manger think? They have a history of dropping organic supply mid-contract. What happens if Ayrshire schools are next? This isn’t about being against non-organic milk or the companies and people who produce it. It’s about questioning how much control mega-dairies have over our food supply chain, and what happens when they can’t deliver on the promises that win them contracts. But anyway, enough of our questions. We've lost the tender and the council seem to have moved on, but for the sake of small scale food producers wanting to make a difference in the world we hope that lessons are learned. We also hope Müller are able to find the organic milk they need to nourish our school pupils for the next few years - they can't lose out because of these issues. We will be watching...

We welcome a report from the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation estimating working farms will be disproportionately affected by the government’s inheritance reform. NFU President Tom Bradshaw (@ProagriLtd) reflects on what the report means. Read here👉ow.ly/arbh50WFR9o

Rising Output from Major Regions Puts Downward Pressure on Commodity Prices and Creates Market Uncertainty. foodbev.com/news/rising-gl…

The Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL have cut their official butter price by €20 to €7,000/t—the seventh consecutive drop. Whey powder is up €50 at €870/t. Other dairy commodity prices are unchanged: WMP at €4,150, as has SMP (food) at €2,340/t and SMP (feed) at €2,400/t

The Dutch Dairy Board/ZuivelNL has cut its official butter price by €130 to €7,050/t, WMP is down €80 at €4,160 and SMP (food) is down €50 at €2,300/t. SMP (feed) is up €20 at €2,370/t and whey powder is unchanged at €790/t

OECD-FAO 2025-2034 Projections: Exports of dairy products by region oecd.org/en/publication…

Great to see this in the Great British countryside! 🙌🇬🇧 📷 Spotted in Ely