Andie Majewski, Graduate Research Associate, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University
According to an issue of Farm Policy News, from the University of Illinois, in the last month, about 60% of the US experienced a record-breaking spring drought of at least moderate effect. Crop producers in the southeast and great plains, where the drought was most intense, may face low crop yields at harvest due to the current lack of rain and adequate planting conditions. While Ohio is not yet affected by this drought, the state won’t be exempt from the potential negative impacts the drought may have on the future feed market.
Figure 1. Actual and predicted cost of 21 feed commodities fed on Ohio dairy farms; May 24, 2026. Feedstuffs that are priced above the upper prediction price limit are overpriced (red bars). Feedstuffs that fall within the upper and lower limits of the predicted prices are breakeven feeds (grey bars). Feedstuffs that are priced below the lower prediction price limit are considered a bargain (green bars).
Economic Value of Feeds
Figure 1 displays the costs for the 21 reported commodities in Ohio. These results were produced by SESAME™ for the central Ohio region on May 24, 2026. The prices and estimates displayed in Figure 1 are from a single point in time; therefore, their economic classification may differ as time passes, though they remain a useful tool to predict the cost of a ration. Furthermore, they may provide insight as to which crops are worth the financial investment, and which may be better left out of a ration until their cost better represents their nutritive value. Currently, most corn products are either adequately priced or considered a bargain while soybean meal and whole roasted soybeans are overpriced.
The appraisal set, shown in Table 1, predicts the prices for commodities that did not have a current local price. These commodity prices were predicted by SESAME™ and represent the estimated value at one specific point in time and are therefore subject to change. These values may be used as a benchmark when considering the purchase of these ingredients.
Table 1. Estimated feedstuffs prices not reported for Ohio, May 24, 2026.
Feed Nutrient Prices
The current economic value of nutrients, as reported below in Table 2, move further in an undesirable direction as the month of May ends, with the cost of metabolizable protein (MP) and physically effective fiber (e-NDF) increasing. The cost of net energy of lactation (NEL) has decreased slightly since the previous issue, though this decrease is rather insignificant.
Table 2. Prices of nutrients for Ohio dairy farms, May 25, 2026, compared to March 25, 2026.
Milk and Milk Component Prices
Class I milk price, as well as the price of butter fat and milk protein all increased in the month of May. This directly increased the Cow-Jones Index estimates of the profitability of milk production. The Cow-Jones Index considers factors including the nutrient input costs displayed in Table 2, cow production metrics, and the current milk and component prices shown in Table 3. The prediction formula uses a 1,500-lb cow producing milk with 4.09% fat and 3.22% protein. The formula does not include factors that may affect profitability, such as the cost of replacement and cull cows in the herd. This month, the income over nutrient cost (IONC) for cows milking 85 and 70 lb/day is about $10.67 and $10.18 /cwt, respectively. Profit margins at both production levels have significantly increased in the month of May and are considered profitable.
Table 3. Prices of milk and milk components, sourced from Federal Marketing Order 33, for Ohio dairy farms, May 24, 2026, compared to March 25, 2026.
In May, corn products were worth their financial cost. Additionally, the price of milk and milk components increased. Combined, these factors resulted in more profitable income over nutrient costs, despite the rising cost of protein feedstuffs and increasing individual nutrient costs.