Dairy Sales Climb in June and Oil Prices Lowest in 6 Months

**Hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigated farmland in the San Joaquin Valley are expected to come out of production this year due to water shortages.

Now farmers, researchers and government officials are looking to transition fallowed grounds to other uses and to address worries over dust.

At a recent forum by the Public Policy Institute of California, farmers and water policy experts discussed repurposing toppled almond orchards to low-water production of winter grains.

**The sale of dairy products climbed in June.

Supermarket News says dairy sales totaled just under $5.1 billion for the month, 16% higher year-over-year.

The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association says unit sales did drop 2.4% from last year, but the consistency of weekly sales levels, all at least $1.2 billion, is encouraging because demand is holding strong especially compared to pre-COVID levels.

**Oil prices declined to the lowest point in almost six months, caused by weakening gasoline demand and recessionary fears.

Bloomberg says West Texas Intermediate fell to $87.78 a barrel, a level last seen before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Fears of a slowing economy have intensified along with the potential impacts on crude demand.

One senior market analyst says prices falling under $90 a barrel is “quite remarkable” given how tight the market is and how little relief is in store.