CWT announces eighth herd retirement

Last Friday, Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) announced that it will conduct its eighth herd retirement and second retirement of 2009. CWT announced that this round the bid submission time frame will be shortened, and they will instate a maximum bid level in order to have a more immediate impact.

The bid window has been reduced to two weeks and will have a maximum bid level of $5.25 per hundredweight. According to Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, “Carrying out a second herd retirement right on the heels of the largest-ever herd retirement should give us a double-barreled attack on milk production in a very short period of time, resulting in a farm level price recovery several months sooner than would otherwise occur.”

Farmers will also have the option of offering all bred heifers at a price of $700 per animal. Herds retired in any of the previous seven rounds will not be allowed to bid again. Bids are due July 24 to CWT. More information, including bid forms, can be found at CWT’s website.