Two new USDA reports were out yesterday. The USDA Milk Production report showed the U.S. dairy cow herd continues to grow, although 2025 and 2026 milk production levels are starting to come closer together. Commodity prices are a bit higher thanks to weather conditions and geopolitical issues. And if energy prices don't fix themselves, Republicans could be in trouble this fall.

We start off with a recap of an UpLevel Dairy podcast featuring a Compeer analysts who discusses how financially strong farmers stay financially strong. We then look at our first crop planting report and take a look at the latest on Wall Street.

Milk prices have shown promise and markets have switched to put an emphasis on protein. That's been good news for dairy farmers as we get into the second quarter of 2026, and something to consider as we look ahead to Q3 and Q4. That's the topic of today's interview with Corey Geiger, lead dairy economist with CoBank.

Today we start with a review of Friday's USDA Cattle on Feed report, then look at how commodities flipped trends last week. We wrap up with how investors are approaching market decisions in the era of the Middle East conflict.