# Dairy’s journey through 2019 will be complex, and cheese is the driver - Progressive Dairy | Ag Proud

> NMPF economist Peter Vitaliano says U.S. dairy farmers have had four tough years and 2019 shows some improvement but not enough to break the streak by itself. He points to supply-demand imbalances and unusual price relationships, and notes that the 2018 farm bill strengthened the safety net, renamed MPP-Dairy to Dairy Margin Coverage with a $9.50/cwt maximum margin.

- Date: 2019-03-11 · published 2019-03-11T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/60251-dairy-s-journey-through-2019-will-be-complex-and-cheese-is-the-driver
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Cheese is expected to drive dairy's 2019 trajectory, and stronger margin coverage supports farm income without directly lifting milk prices. Persistent oversupply keeps downward pressure on milk and dairy product prices.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2020-10-01 | [Dairy demand during the pandemic - Progressive Dairy \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6556-dairy-demand-during-the-pandemic-progressive-dairy-ag-proud.md) | +4.4% | +10.9% |
| MILK | 2023-03-01 | [The economic state of U.S. dairy: 2023 will differ from 2022 \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36862-the-economic-state-of-u-s-dairy-2023-will-differ-from-2022-ag-proud.md) | -0.8% | +1.1% |
| MILK | 2022-04-18 | [High costs expected to stress dairy margins \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42001-high-costs-expected-to-stress-dairy-margins-capital-press.md) | -0.0% | +2.6% |
| MILK | 2023-01-05 | [Dairy outlook 2023: stand by for volatility to continue \| BusinessDesk](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5547-dairy-outlook-2023-stand-by-for-volatility-to-continue-businessdesk.md) | -4.4% | -12.5% |
| MILK | 2026-04-09 | [U.S. dairy market structure shifts to short on protein, long on butterfat, by: Corey Geiger - Dairy Producer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19717-u-s-dairy-market-structure-shifts-to-short-on-protein-long-on-butterfat-by.md) | -1.4% | -0.4% |

## Sources

- agproud.com: https://www.agproud.com/articles/37964-dairy-s-journey-through-2019-will-be-complex-and-cheese-is-the-driver

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