Monday Morning Dairy Market Update - Light Trading Activity Expected

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	3 to 6 Lower
Class IV Milk Futures:	4 t o 8 Higher
Butter Futures:	Steady to 1 Higher

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	1 to 2 Lower
Soybean Futures:	3 to 4 Higher
Soybean Meal Futures:	$0.50 to $1 Higher
Wheat Futures:	3 to 4 Higher

MILK:

Class III milk futures did not have a good week and the beginning of the week does not look positive. Futures were lower overnight as there is little bullish news to support prices. Class IV futures did not trade overnight, but there is potential for strength from the underlying cash. Traders continue to scalp the market in an attempt to make a profit rather than establish long-term positions. Supportive fundamental news is limited with most schools closed, reducing milk moving to school accounts and more moving to manufacturing. Milk is readily available for demand with milk production increasing and remaining above a year ago.

CHEESE:

There is little reason for spot cheese prices to trend higher. Manufacturers want to move supplies to the spot market as quickly as possible rather than build inventory. Buyers see sufficient cheese supplies, leaving them less aggressive in the market.

BUTTER:

The recent strength in butter would suggest further upside potential as the price has increased despite heavy offers. Increased demand may be sufficient to require buyers to purchase for immediate needs as well as for contracted needs as the year progresses.

Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - All-milk Price Increased in April to $20.80

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Class IV futures closed the week with strength. Class III futures struggled into the close. Butter had a very good week with a substantial jump in price and a large volume of loads traded. The April Agricultural Prices report showed a significant increase in the All-milk price from March.

MILK:

Class III futures increased substantially over the past three days due to the strength this week in the butter price. Now that the nonfat dry milk price has shown weakness, butter has taken over to support Class IV prices. The price spread between Class III and Class IV futures widened significantly this week. The April Agricultural Prices report was released. The average corn price was $4.31 per bushel, up $0.04 from March and down $0.31 per bushel from April 2025. The premium/supreme hay price was $234.00 per ton, up $4.00 from March and down $18.00 per ton from April 2025. The All-milk price was

$20.80 per cwt. This was $1.10 higher than March, but $0.30 per cwt lower than a year ago. Th average soybean meal price will be released on Monday to provide the last price needed to calculate income over feed for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. Other prices of interest are the soybean price of $11.20 per bushel, up $0.110 from March and $1.00 per bushel higher than a year ago. The average alfalfa hay price was $185.00 per ton, up $19.00 per ton from March and $5.00 per ton higher than a year ago. The average price for dairy cows was $3,130.00 compared to $2,860.00 per cow in April 2025. The average butterfat test was 4.34 compared to 4.39 in March and 4.32 in April 2025.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$16.61
6 Month:	$17.21
9 Month:	$17.46
12 Month:	$17.48

CHEESE:

For the week, blocks declined 3.00 cents with 22 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4881. Barrels decline 4.00 cents with 2 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4475. Dry whey increased 2.00 cents with 7 loads traded. The weekly average price is 69.13 cents.

BUTTER:

For the week, butter increased 13.25 cents with 104 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.6206. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 1.75 cents with 37 loads traded. The weekly average price is $2.0775.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

July corn closed down 9.00 cents per bushel at $4.4675, July soybeans closed down 7.75 cents at $11.8675, and July soybean meal closed down $4.30 per ton at $329.80. July Chicago wheat closed down 13.50 cents at $6.1050. August live cattle closed down $1.95 at $239.05. July crude oil is down $1.54 per barrel at $87.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 363 points at 51,032, with the NASDAQ up 55 points at 26,973.

Friday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Butter Shows Further Strength

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	10 Lower
SOYBEANS:	11 Lower
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$4.20 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$1.30 Lower
DOW JONES:	303 Points higher
NASDAQ:	36 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$2.09 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price declined 1.25 cents to close at $1.4750 with 4 loads traded. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged at $1.44 with no loads traded. The dry whey price gained 1.00 cents to close at 70.00 cents with 3 loads traded. Class III futures are under pressure, with contracts steady to 16 cents lower. The butter price gained 3.25 cents to close at $1.6675 with 24 loads traded. There were 20 unfilled bids and 27 uncovered offers remaining at the close of spot trading. The price initially increased to $1.7050 but was unable to hold that level due to increased selling pressure at the higher prices. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 0.50 cent to close at $2.09 with one load traded. Class IV futures are 6 cents lower to 40 cents higher. Butter futures are 1.60 -- 4.75 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 0.50 cent lower to 0.30 cent higher. Cheese futures are 1.30 cents lower to 0.20 cent higher. The April Agricultural Prices report will be released today.