Friday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Futures Unable to Find Direction

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	2 Higher
SOYBEANS:	1 Higher
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$2.20 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$0.20 Lower
DOW JONES:	97 Points Higher
NASDAQ:	252 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$0.66 Higher

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price increased 2.00 cents to close at $1.5550 with four loads traded. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged at $1.5475 with no loads traded. Both categories had no unfilled bids or uncovered offers remaining at the close of spot trading. The dry whey price remained unchanged at 69.00 cents with no loads traded. Class III futures are mixed, ranging from 7 cents lower to 6 cents higher. The butter price decreased 3.75 cents to close at $1.5125 with 12 loads traded. The market took back more than half of Thursday's gains. The number of loads waiting to be sold does not diminish, with 64 uncovered offers remaining at the close of spot trading. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 1.25 cents to close at $1.5775 with 12 loads traded. Class IV futures have not yet been traded. Butter futures are steady to 3.25 cents lower. Dry whey futures are steady to 0.25 cent lower. Cheese futures are 1.00 cent lower to 0.20 cent higher. Nonfat dry milk futures are 1.00 cent lower to 1.50 cents higher.

Friday Morning Dairy Market Update - Continued Strength Remains Elusive

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	2 to 4 Higher
Class IV Milk Futures:	Mixed
Butter Futures:	1 to 2 Higher

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	2 to 3 Higher
Soybean Futures:	2 to 4 Higher
Soybean Meal Futures:	Mixed
Wheat Futures:	1 to 2 Higher

MILK:

The price pattern has been choppy and is likely to continue to remain that way for the near term. The volume of loads offered on the spot market is sufficient to meet the demand, leaving it unnecessary for them to remain consistent buyers. The dynamic of the market has changed as larger farms and the income from calves will leave the market less responsive to seasonality and market signals that would have had a greater impact more quickly in the past. The hope is that demand will improve and keep up with the growth in milk production. The June Dairy Products report released on Thursday indicates that increased production is being absorbed. Inventory has not been building, according to the latest Cold Storage report.

CHEESE:

The bounce in the block cheese prices may continue, but it may have limited upside potential. The price has a long way to go to regain what was lost over the past three weeks.

BUTTER:

Butter showed a strong gain on Thursday as buyers purchased a lot of butter on the spot market. It was impressive to see the price rise with 79 loads traded. However, there were 62 loads offered for sale remaining at the close. There are plentiful supplies of butter available.

Thursday Closing Dairy Market Update - Cheese and Butter Production Increased in June

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Class III futures found strength from the increase in the block cheese and dry whey prices. However, traders were cautious with their exuberance as only the September and October contracts posted double-digit gains. Traders showed little interest in Class IV as much of the gain in butter was offset by the decline in nonfat dry milk. Cheese and butter production increased in June according to the Dairy Products report.

MILK:

The September and October Class III contracts pushed back above $17.00, but for how long? The market is likely to remain choppy as traders react to the movement in the spot markets. There is little to indicate the underlying cash markets will trend higher anytime soon. The best we have going for us is seasonality, but that may not follow the usual pattern due to continued strong milk production. The availability of spot milk varies across the country, with some areas seeing tighter supplies. Some of this is likely due to hot weather lingering in some areas. Some may be the result of greater demand from bottlers as they begin processing milk for school accounts. More milk will soon move from some areas to other areas that are in deficit.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$17.18
6 Month:	$17.37
9 Month:	$17.40
12 Month:	$17.46

CHEESE:

The June Dairy Products report showed American cheese production totaled 485 million pounds, up 1.1% from June 2025. Italian type cheese production totaled 522 million pounds, down 0.3% from a year earlier. Total cheese output reached 1.23 billion pounds, up 1.1% from June 2025. Dry whey production totaled 80.9 million pounds, up 7.3% from a year ago. Lactose output totaled 86.7 million pounds, down 115%. Whey protein concentrate was 5.3% lower at 42.2 million pounds.

BUTTER:

Butter production in June totaled 208 million pounds, up 8.5% from June 2025. Nonfat dry milk output totaled 165 million pounds, up 14.2%. Skim milk powder output totaled 28.7 million pounds, down 46.8%. Regular hard ice cream production totaled 68.7 million gallons, up 5.2%.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

December corn closed up 2.00 cents per bushel at $4.6200, November soybeans closed up 3.00 cents at $11.7775, and December soybean meal closed up $1.00 per ton at $316.60. September Chicago wheat closed down 11.00 cents at $6.3125. October live cattle closed down $4.55 at $224.93. September crude oil is up $3.10 per barrel at $78.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 464 points at 53,885, with the NASDAQ down 15 points at 26,348.