Milk Prices Expected to Fall in 2023

 “Inflation isn’t going away in 2023,” says Will Loux with NMPF. “What we expect to see is perhaps not as high of inflation as we saw this past year. But still, if you take out 2022, inflation in 2023 will still probably be one of the highest [inflation periods] within the last century. It’s still going to squeeze consumers pocketbooks. I think you’ve also got central banks around the world, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, raising interest rates trying to slow down inflation, but in doing so, slowing down the U.S. and global economy. And all of that really hurts consumers pocketbooks.

“What that means ultimately for dairy is that we expect to see a little bit slower consumer demand. But ultimately, what I think we want to focus on here is the fact that consumers around the world still gravitate towards dairy even when they’re experiencing tighter economic situations. They view dairy as an essential item and will continue to consume it, but likely they’re going to trade down the value chain.”

Loux says consumers might not buy up as much specialty cheese, instead opting for staples like cheddar and mozzarella.

Wisconsin Butter Plant Fire

A fire at a dairy plant in Wisconsin created an interesting problem. Twenty gallons of butter were discharged into an adjacent canal. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the fire at the Associated Milk Producers Plant in Portage happened on Jan. 2.

Officials say the butter entered the canal via a storm sewer and they say booms were placed in the canal to contain the spill. They report most of the spill went into the sanitary sewer and traveled to a waste water treatment plant where workers have been clearing the butter since that fire. The environmental impacts so far have been minimal.