Shipping to nearly 50 countries, CDI accounts for about one-third of all U.S. milk powder exports.

Demand for dairy is surging but competition from the EU and New Zealand is keen.

There is no silver bullet when it comes to spore control. It takes an all-inclusive approach on the farm, in the plant and while cleaning.

Cheese remains one of the best performers, with volume up 46 percent this January compared to January 2013.

If someone asks you to name the current cheese price, you would probably quote the latest CME block cheddar close. And if you want to hedge your milk costs, your cheese sales or your inventory values, you can do so relatively simply using CME Class III or cheese futures. But if you’re in the milk powder business—either a seller or a buyer—how do you know what a load is worth? And how can you hedge against price movements when prices are all over the board, each series has different rules on which transactions are included and each actor may price off a different series?

Rabobank Dairy Analyst Tim Hunt made an incisive observation during his presentation at USDEC’s April Board of Directors and Membership Meeting: The United States is more “exposed” to the level of dairy exports than it has been in the past, and specifically more exposed than the “boom” of 2007-2008. It is now imperative to protect volume and market share gains.

On paper, based on published cheese, butter and powder prices, U.S. dairy suppliers currently have a huge edge over European Union (EU) and Oceania exporters. The casual observer may wonder why then U.S. overseas sales aren’t quickly ramping back up. In reality, the apparent pricing advantage isn’t always quite what it seems.

The past three years have been a ferocious rollercoaster ride for dairy prices, and that has raised a critical question about the U.S. industry’s future health: “How do you handle dairy’s inherent volatility to ensure success?”