July milk up 0.1 percent

Despite negative returns on nearly every U.S. dairy, farmers are still not reducing milk output. In the just-released milk production data from USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service, July milk was reported to be up 0.1 percent. Likewise, June's revised production totals were the same amount compared to a year ago.

Among the top 23 dairy states, five were down over 2 percent, and all but one was in the West. Arizona was down 8.3 percent; California, down 5 percent; Vermont, down 4.5 percent; Idaho, down 3.5 percent; and New Mexico, down 2.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Minnesota leads all gainers, up 5.9 percent while its neighbor, Wisconsin, was up 5.8 percent. Virginia matched Wisconsin's gain. Lastly, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois were up 4.8 to 3.9 percent.