GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Milk futures started off strong in the overnights but lost momentum midway through the day. Butter had another disappointing day in the cash market, pressuring futures.
MILK:
Hot temperatures return to many parts of the country this week for an extended period, bringing late-summer concerns for milk production on a short-term basis. Class III and Class IV milk futures started off higher on the early morning trade session but quickly lost ground in the day trade. Dry whey and non-fat dry milk were the market leaders near the close with the only consistently higher prices. Both traded 0.75 cent to 1.5 cents higher.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.87 |
| 6 Month: | $17.10 |
| 9 Month: | $17.25 |
| 12 Month: | $17.38 |
CHEESE:
Cheese prices are struggling to find support, with the availability of milk being plentiful and demand lacking. Holiday buying has not yet begun, and consumer demand is steady. Both blocks and barrels were unchanged with no loads traded in the cash market on Monday.
BUTTER:
Cream availability is abundant as seen in the cash market. The sheer number of loads offered has been huge recently, showing manufacturers trying to find buyers for the large quantity of butter available. Last week, the Midwest region did sell some cream for export to Mexico, but that did little to nothing for controlling the abundant supply. Butter was down 1.25 cents in the cash market and off 2.257 to 3.475 cents in the futures market.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
December corn closed up 1.25 cents per bushel at $5.3775, November soybeans closed steady at $12.8800 and December soybean meal closed down $3.60 per ton at $345.30. December Chicago wheat closed down 10 cents at $7.7400. October live cattle closed up $0.95 at $212.68. October crude oil is up 2.94 per barrel at $86.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 374 points at 53,185, and the NASDAQ is down 31 points at 26,370.


