Monday Morning Dairy Market Update - Class III Milk Opens Higher

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	5 to 15 Higher
Class IV Milk Futures:	5 to 15 Higher
Butter Futures:	Mixed

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	Mixed
Soybean Futures:	3 to 5 Lower
Soybean Meal Futures:	$0.30 to $0.50 Lower
Wheat Futures:	10 to 12 Lower

MILK:

Schools are back in session across the country, bringing additional bottled milk demand. Many are already offering whole milk options for the first time since the Obama era. Another heat wave is hitting many parts of the country this week, bringing additional concern over short-term cow comfort and lower temporary milk production volumes.

CHEESE:

Cheese is struggling to find much ground to stand on with steady to lower demand. Much of the market is in a waiting game to see how much buying will occur and when for seasonal needs. Today, demand is limited despite it being this early in the season.

BUTTER:

Butter cash values were flat week-over-week. Churning is steady with plenty of cream available, although the Midwest region saw some demand from Mexico, while not enough to significantly change the availability of product. Much like the cheese market, butter is waiting for the anticipated holiday-season buying to begin. However, with the availability of butter in the cash market, it may have quietly already begun.

Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - Class III Futures Close Lower for the Week

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Milk futures closed with mostly double-digit gains. Class III futures closed mostly higher despite weakness in the block cheese market. However, futures closed lower for the week. Class IV futures closed significantly higher for the week.

MILK:

Class III futures through the end of the year closed lower for the week, maintaining the bearish tone. The block cheese price declined during the second half of the week. The price fell to the lowest level since July 6. The price has declined 12.75 cents since August 13th, keeping the market in a downtrend. The real excitement stemmed from the continued strength in nonfat dry milk, pushing Class IV futures significantly higher for the week. The September through December contracts are above $19.00, where they have not been since early May.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$16.76
6 Month:	$17.08
9 Month:	$17.20
12 Month:	$17.32

CHEESE:

For the week, blocks decreased 4.50 cents with 38 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5085. Barrels were unchanged from the close of the previous week with no loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5730. Dry whey increased 3.50 cents with one load traded. The weekly average price is 72.05 cents.

BUTTER:

For the week, butter was unchanged with 93 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4625. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 6.50 cents with 16 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.8265. The nonfat dry milk price has increased 46.50 cents since the low on July 27.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

December corn closed up 3.00 cents per bushel at $5.3650, November soybeans closed up 20.00 cents at $12.8800, and December soybean meal closed up $8.00 per ton at $348.90. December Chicago wheat closed up 23.25 cents at $7.8400. October live cattle closed down $1.20 at $211.73. October crude oil is down $0.18 per barrel at $83.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 28 points at 53,560, with the NASDAQ down 139 points at 26,402.

 

Friday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Milk Futures Show Further Strength

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	1 Lower
SOYBEANS:	15 Higher
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$7.70 Higher
LIVE CATTLE:	$0.62 Lowerr
DOW JONES:	32 Points Higher
NASDAQ:	120 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$0.19 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price declined 1.25 cents to close at $1.4825 with 10 loads traded. There were 11 unfilled bids and 12 uncovered offers remaining at the close of spot trading. The barrel cheese price declined 1.00 cent to close at $1.5650 with no loads traded and one uncovered offer. The dry whey price gained 0.75 cent to close at 73.75 cents with no loads traded. Class III futures are 4 cents lower to 12 cents higher. The butter price gained 0.25 cent to close at $1.4625 with 3 loads traded. There were no unfilled bids and 53 uncovered offers remaining at the close. Grade A nonfat dry milk gained 1.50 cents to close at $1.8650 with 3 loads traded. Class IV futures are 7-35 cents higher. Butter futures are 2.47 cents lower to 0.15 cent higher. Dry whey futures are steady. Cheese futures are 0.70 cent lower to 0.90 cent higher. Nonfat dry milk futures are 1.50 -- 3.95 cents higher.