# Milk is being dumped. Why is it so hard to address dairy market chaos? - CSMonitor.com

> Coronavirus lockdowns closed schools, restaurants and coffee shops, causing a sharp drop in dairy demand. Farmers such as Brian Brown were told to cut production by about 20% and began dumping milk. Excess milk is being directed toward food banks, which may need federal help.

- Date: 2020-04-30 · published 2020-04-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region US · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5178-milk-is-being-dumped-why-is-it-so-hard-to-address-dairy-market-chaos-csmonitor
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Forced production cuts and milk dumping signal a large supply surplus that keeps milk prices depressed. Lower milk output reduces the volume of dairy byproducts available for feed.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2020-04-30 | 5 | -14.9% | -5.6 | Reports of dumping and mandated production cuts on April 30 highlighted a demand collapse and glut, weighing on sentiment. |
| MILK | 2020-05-01 | 5 | -14.9% | -5.0 | Demand collapse from closed restaurants and schools, along with milk dumping and production cuts, reinforced the bearish sentiment around the glut. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2021-02-25 | [Dairy is testing historical market limits](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48806-dairy-is-testing-historical-market-limits.md) | +5.2% | +4.1% |
| MILK | 2026-04-27 | [Market, pricing changes force dairy producers to adapt \| Agriculture \| nwestiowa.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19878-market-pricing-changes-force-dairy-producers-to-adapt-agriculture-nwestiowa-com.md) | +1.4% | +0.5% |
| MILK | 2020-04-03 | [U.S. dairy farmers dump milk as pandemic upends food markets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4154-u-s-dairy-farmers-dump-milk-as-pandemic-upends-food-markets.md) | -5.0% | -21.3% |
| MILK | 2020-04-02 | [Dairy farmers begin to flush away milk due to coronavirus \| AP News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4159-dairy-farmers-begin-to-flush-away-milk-due-to-coronavirus-ap-news.md) | -4.6% | -21.3% |
| MILK | 2020-04-24 | [Idaho dairymen dump milk as demand, prices fall \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6502-idaho-dairymen-dump-milk-as-demand-prices-fall-capital-press.md) | -13.8% | -7.5% |

## Sources

- csmonitor.com: https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2020/0430/No-one-wants-to-dump-milk.-Here-s-why-it-s-happening-anyway

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.