I have been traveling the country and have been speaking to many dairy producers and feed company executives. I have a mixed bag of results from these conversations. Many are reporting the cows in the west went through a rough winter of rain and mud. The Northeast is still suffering the effects of poor forage from last fall. We have only just now started to plant corn and harvest green chop in the Northeast.
Many herds have cows that are mid lactation.
The argument is that these cows will have depressed milk production for at least several more months. Cash starved producers need the money. My view is that high milk prices and cheap feed will eventually bring a lot more milk. The question is when. Time will tell.