Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Wednesday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Dairy Pulls Back

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN: 1 Lower
SOYBEANS: 5 Lower
SOYBEAN MEAL: $2.20 Lower
LIVE CATTLE: $1.45 Higher
DOW JONES: 223 Points Higher
NASDAQ: 335 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL: $1.20 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price decreased 9.75 cents to close at $1.7025 with 8 loads traded. The barrel cheese price was unchanged at $1.7200 with no loads traded. Dry Whey fell 5.25 cents, off the historic high closing at 84.25 cents with one load traded. Class III futures are 11 to 45 cents lower. The butter price closed 3 cents lower at $1.3300 with 3 loads traded. A nonfat dry milk decreased 7.5 cents to close at $2.1350 with 4 loads traded. Class IV futures have not yet traded today. Butter futures are 2.45 cents lower to 0.5 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 0.25 to 1.25 cents lower. Cheese futures are 0.09 to 4.6 cents lower. Nonfat dry milk futures are 3.55 to 4 cents lower.




Wednesday Morning Dairy Market Summary - Class I and II Prices Announced Today

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures: 5 to 10 Lower
Class IV Milk Futures: Mixed
Butter Futures: Mixed

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures: 2 to 3 Lower
Soybean Futures: 3 to 5 Lower
Soybean Meal Futures: $1.20 to $1.60 Lower
Wheat Futures: 4 to 5 Lower

MILK:

Overnight trade indicates that Class III futures are running out of gas on the recent rally. It has been an impressive spike in prices starting on Oct. 1 with nearly every day closing higher on the November contract. With the Milk Production report coming Thursday, it would make sense that the market may be due for a pullback. Milk powders were the start of the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) Auction Tuesday with butter milk powder climbing 8.4% from the previous auction. Whole milk powder was up 4.4% while skim milk powder was up 3.4%.

CHEESE:

Spot market continues to bring the most excitement to the dairy market as of late. Tuesday was no exception with cheddar blocks climbing another 7 cents and barrels up 8 cents. Futures have been trailing behind but still gaining ground nearly every day this month. The GDT Auction had cheddar falling dramatically with the biggest decrease from the last auction out of all the products traded. Cheddar was down 7.4% with an average price of $3,645. Mozzarella was 1.3% higher from the previous auction.

BUTTER:

Holiday buying for butter may be the cause for the recent cash price increase as buyers step in to fulfill their needs ahead of the baking season. Prices are low, so it is a good opportunity to do so. The Cold Storage report may have the biggest impact on butter as we will get a better look on Friday at what inventories are. We know 82% butterfat butter supplies are tight but 80% is readily available.




Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Tuesday Closing Dairy Market Update - Global Dairy Trade 2.5% Higher

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

The GDT Auction took place earlier Tuesday with an average winning price of $4,021, up 2.5% from Oct. 6. Cheddar had the biggest decrease from the previous auction, while Buttermilk Powder gained the most in value.

MILK:

Class III milk futures started off Tuesday strong, with the November contract trading over 40 cents higher. By the last trade of the day, the November contract had lost some ground, only 25 cents higher on the day. The settlement taking place in early afternoon still had the market up 39 cents at that time. The deferred 2027 contracts were all lower by the final bell. Class IV had minimal trading for the day, with the last trades unchanged to 4 cents higher. Wednesday, Class I and II prices will be announced, and later this week will be the Milk Production Report. To follow along with the USDA's Dairy Outlook report, the market expects milk production, while still historically high, to be reduced from the previous report.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month: $17.05
6 Month: $17.31
9 Month: $17.43
12 Month: $17.55

CHEESE:

The spot market for cheese has been on a major rally lately. Tuesday was no different, with Cheddar Blocks climbing another 7 cents and Barrels 8 cents higher. Cheese futures were higher as well, with the November contract up 3.5 cents near the close. The GDT was off pretty hard from the auction two weeks ago for Cheddar. Cheddar was down 7.4% at $3,645/MT. Mozzarella, on the other hand, was up 1.3%.

BUTTER:

Butter futures were mixed Tuesday afternoon, trading anywhere from down 0.5 cents to up 0.5 cents. Cash markets were 2.5 cents lower on the day with only one trade. There were a lot of outstanding bids and offers, 51 and 73 respectively, but prices were too far apart to make a trade. The GDT Auction had butter down 0.4% from the Oct. 6 event, coming in at $4,721/MT.The Cold Storage Report will be released Friday to give the market a better look at butter supplies available. Milk powders were the biggest demand of the auction, with increases in each category. Butter Milk Powder had the highest increase from the previous report, up 8.4% from two weeks ago.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

December corn closed down 5 cents per bushel at $4.62; November soybeans closed down 5.25 cents at $12.4825 and December soybean meal closed down $6.10 per ton at $348.70. December Chicago wheat closed down 12 cents at $6.4325.

December live cattle closed up 1.950 at $229.45. November crude oil is down $1.87 per barrel at $97.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 529 points at 52,495 and the NASDAQ is down 6 points at 26,424.




Wednesday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Dairy Pulls Back

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY: CORN: 1 Lower SOYBEANS: 5 Lower SOYBEAN MEAL: ...