Tuesday Closing Dairy Market Update - Global Dairy Trade Increases 1.2%

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

The Global Dairy Trade Auction took place this morning, increasing the GDT Price Index by 1.2% with an average winning price of $3,928 or $1.7817 per pound. Futures found support today in nearly all dairy products outside of butter.

MILK:

Class III ended up trading higher by midday today after a supportive GDT auction as well as cheese blocks continuing to trend higher in the cash market. Skim Milk Powder had the highest price increase from mid-September GDT, climbing 4.3%, while Lactose fell the sharpest out of all the categories, ending up 6.9% lower. Whole Milk Powder had the greatest volume of trade, with the most loads selling to New Zealand.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$15.61
6 Month:	$16.21
9 Month:	$16.54
12 Month:	$16.81

CHEESE:

Cheese prices fell on the GDT today, with Cheddar 3.7% lower and Mozzarella 3.9% lower. These are some of the lowest prices the market has seen over the last five years, but still at a premium to this summer's lows. The cash trade had blocks climbing another cent earlier today, allowing futures to climb 0.2 to 1 cent higher on the day. Traders are watching closely for anticipated holiday buying.

BUTTER:

Butter fell 0.3% on the GDT auction to $4,740 or $2.15 per pound. Cash trade also had butter drifting slightly lower, falling 0.5 cents on the day. Butter futures were a bit more dramatic in price action today, ending up as much as 5.375 cents lower on the January contract. Production is strong, and supply is great, so there is no need to get excited about buying butter today.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

December corn closed up 10.75 cents per bushel at $5.0800, November soybeans closed up 22.25 cents at $13.0300 and December soybean meal closed up $7.70 per ton at $354.80. December Chicago wheat closed up 12.00 cents at $7.0425. December live cattle closed up $4.13 at $224.10. November crude oil is up .01 per barrel at $89.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 253 points at 51,521 and the NASDAQ is up 122 points at 27,599.

Tuesday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Class III Higher

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	10 Higher
SOYBEANS:	17 Higher
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$7.10 Higher
LIVE CATTLE:	$2.575 Higher
DOW JONES:	237 Points Higher
NASDAQ:	141 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$0.07 Higher

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price increased 1 cent to close at $1.3350 with 8 loads traded. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged at $1.4525 with no loads traded. The dry whey price was also unchanged, closing at 83.50 with no loads traded. Class III has come off of overnight lows trading now 1 to 11 cents higher. The butter price fell 0.50 cents, closing at $1.3100 with no loads traded. There were 3 unfilled bids and 29 uncovered offers remaining. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 2.75 cents to close at $2.2475 with 5 loads traded. Class IV futures are 4 cents lower to 8 cents higher. Butter futures are 2.9 to 5.375 cents lower. Dry whey futures have not yet traded today. Cheese futures are 0.10 -- 0.50 cents higher. Nonfat dry milk futures are 1.325 to 3.85 cents higher. 

Tuesday Morning Dairy Market Update - Class III Drifts Lower Overnight

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	2 to 10 Lower
Class IV Milk Futures:	Mixed
Butter Futures:	Mixed

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	3 to 4 Higher
Soybean Futures:	4 to 6 Higher
Soybean Meal Futures:	$0.30 to $0.50 Higher
Wheat Futures:	5 to 7 Higher

MILK:

The Global Dairy Trade will take place later Tuesday to give a little more direction as far as price benchmarks for going forward as well as a better picture of world demand. Class IV milk has had little futures trade interest lately while Class III has drifted lower. Nonfat milk found some early strength in the evening trade. Overall, milk production is strong so upside will be limited despite high demand.

CHEESE:

Cheese output totaled 1.25 billion pounds on Monday's Dairy Products report published by USDA. That is 1.4% higher than August 2025. Holiday season is approaching quickly, so there is some optimism for price support as buyers take stock in supplies and plan for the seasonal demand.

BUTTER:

Butter production had an astounding 6.3% increase from August 2025 in Monday's report, totaling 187 million pounds. Nonfat dry milk was up 9.6% while skim milk powder fell a whopping 33.1% from a year ago. Butter should see a seasonal spike in demand in the coming weeks as the holiday baking season approaches.