Monday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Mixed Dairy Trade

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	2 Higher
SOYBEANS:	6 Lower
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$4.60 Higher
LIVE CATTLE:	$0.375 Lower
DOW JONES:	220 Points Lower
NASDAQ:	117 Points Lower
CRUDE OIL:	$1.85 Higher

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price increased 0.5 cents to close at $1.3900 with four loads traded. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged at $1.4525 with no loads traded. The dry whey price was unchanged, closing at 86.0 cents with no loads traded, holding out just shy of the record. Class III futures are mixed from 3 cents lower to 20 cents higher. The butter price fell 0.5 cents Monday, closing at $1.270 with 18 loads traded. There were 49 unfilled bids and five uncovered offers remaining. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 0.25 cents to close at $2.27 with five loads traded. Class IV futures are 38 cents higher on the November contract -- the only contract that has been traded so far. Butter futures are 0.325 to 2.25 cents lower. Dry whey futures are unchanged to 0.25 cents higher. Cheese futures are mixed from 0.2 cents lower to 0.5 cents higher. Nonfat dry milk futures are 0.475 to 3.975 cents higher. 

Monday Morning Dairy Market Update - Lower Butter and Cheese Prices Expected

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	Mixed
Class IV Milk Futures:	Mixed
Butter Futures:	1 to 1.5 Higher

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	1 to 2 Higher
Soybean Futures:	7 to 9 Lower
Soybean Meal Futures:	$0.10 to $0.80 Lower
Wheat Futures:	3 to 4 Lower

MILK:

Friday's WASDE report highlighted the most recent Milk Production report's expectations of lower cow numbers in 2026, and lower output per cow for both 2026 and 2027 compared to the September report. This still projects milk production for 2026 at 236.9 billion pounds, a 5.5-billion-pound increase over 2025. Expectations for 2027, while lower, are still sitting at 238.4 billion pounds, an increase of 1.7 billion pounds over 2026 projections. Overnight trade has Class III futures up 4 cents on the October contracts, yet November and December are down 21 to 25 cents.

CHEESE:

The WASDE report lowered cheese price expectations for 2026 and 2027, with $1.525 per pound for this year being 26.53 cents lower than 2025 and 34.09 cents lower than 2024. Cheese in the cash market had a big win last week, increasing block prices 6 cents by Friday. Barrels have not moved in a few weeks but still carry a premium to blocks.

BUTTER:

USDA also lowered butter exports on Friday's WASDE report, which caused a drop in butter price expectations on this month's report of 3.5 cents per pound for 2026 coming in at $1.56, a drop of 66.02 cents from 2025 and $1.327 from 2024. 2027 projected butter price was also decreased from the September report at $1.55 per pound.

Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - WASDE Reduces Milk Production Forecasts

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

The USDA released the October WASDE report today, lowering expected milk production for 2026 and 2027, while simultaneously lowering export expectations.

MILK:

Class III milk futures drifted lower on the October contract this week while the November and beyond futures contracts steadily gained ground. Class IV had limited trading on the October contract, yet did manage to climb 13 cents from Friday's close. The WASDE report lowered the Class III projected price for 2026 to $15.80, a 40-cent drop from last month, and lowered the 2027 projected price by 20 cents to $16.90. Class IV saw a 35-cent increase for 2026, now at $18.90, and a $1.35 increase in 2027 to $18.90. The All Milk price was unchanged for 2026 at $19.90 while increasing 65 cents for 2027 to $20.45. Nonfat Dry Milk increased 6.5 cents to $1.735 per pound for the 2026 projected price, and saw a 19-cent increase for 2027 to $1.74. Dry Whey increased 1 cent in 2026 to 68 cents and 2.5 cents for 2027 to 71.5 cents.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$15.85
6 Month:	$16.42
9 Month:	$16.73
12 Month:	$16.94

CHEESE:

For the week, the block cheese price increased by 7 cents with 41 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.3480. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged for the third consecutive week, with no loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4525. The dry whey price increased by 3.5 cents with one load traded. The weekly average price is 84.60 cents. The close today of 86 cents was the second-highest price of all time. The record was placed Feb. 8, 2022, at 86.75.

BUTTER:

For the week, the butter price decreased by 6.50 cents with 37 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.2880. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 4.75 cents with 16 loads traded. The weekly average price is $2.2500. This is the highest price since May 19.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

December corn closed down 20.50 cents per bushel at $4.7975, November soybeans closed up 4.50 cents at $12.9200 and December soybean meal closed up $8.00 per ton at $365.60. December Chicago wheat closed down 12.25 cents at $6.7100. December live cattle closed up $3.50 at $227.05. November crude oil is up .36 per barrel at $91.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 423 points at 51,654 and the NASDAQ is up 172 points at 27,366.