While the outbreak has producers and health officials on alert, analysts say the markets have done a good job of holding steady.
“Honestly, the markets have done very well right from the beginning, I think, because we were coming at this very scientifically and monitoring the situation with what we knew and not jumping to conclusions about what we didn’t know. The market was able to maintain a lot of stability through all of the reporting, whether it was slow to come forward or if it was just in question, we’re relying on science, and science did the talking. There wasn’t any media scares to challenge the marketplace, so it held a fairly steady line,” said Mike North.
North observed a brief market downturn when the virus was discovered in a human, significantly impacting cattle markets but not similarly affecting milk markets. This difference is attributed to the trust placed in pasteurization for ensuring milk safety.
