Andie Majewski, Graduate Research Associate, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University
The American Farm Bureau Foundation states that US row crop and specialty crop producers have received negative returns for their total cost of production since the year of 2022. These negative returns have become more native in recent years and continue to decline so far in 2026. According to an issue of Farm Policy News from the University of Illinois, this market trend, along with crop producer decisions and unpredictable weather patterns, may influence the cost of feed for dairy farmers across the US.
Figure 1. Actual and predicted cost of 21 feed commodities fed on Ohio dairy farms; July 29, 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).
Figure 2. Percent change of the actual cost of 21 feedstuffs fed on Ohio dairy farms from May 25, 2026, to July 29, 2026. Feedstuffs that decreased in price since the previous issue are shown in green, while those that increased in price are colored red. The cost of corn silage has not changed since September, as it is priced on a biannual basis.
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 July 29, 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 may be better left out of a ration until their cost better represents their nutritive value. Although most of the feedstuffs in this issue are currently considered a bargain or priced at market value, the cost of most of these feedstuffs has increased since the previous issue in May (Figure 2).
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, July 29, 2026.
Feed Nutrient Prices
The current economic values of nutrients are reported below in Table 2. In July, the cost of the cost of net energy of lactation (NEL), metabolizable protein (MP) and physically effective fiber (e-NDF) increased. The cost of non- physically effective fiber (ne-NDF) decreased since the previous issue.
Table 2. Prices of nutrients for Ohio dairy farms on July 29, 2026 compared to May 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 $8.44 and $7.86 /cwt, respectively. Profit margins at both production levels have significantly decreased in the month of July but are still considered to be marginally profitable.
Table 3. Prices of milk and milk components, sourced from the Federal Marketing Order 33, for Ohio dairy farms on July 29, 2026 compared to May 25, 2026.
In July, the cost of most feedstuffs increased. Additionally, although the Class I milk price increased, the milk component prices decreased. These feed and milk market trends have resulted in small margins of profitability for Ohio dairy producers.