Tuesday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Block Cheese Price Increased

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	5 Lower
SOYBEANS:	1 Higher
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$2.90 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$3.55 Higher
DOW JONES:	157 Points Higher
NASDAQ:	100 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$0.47 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price increased 6.25 cents, closing at $1.45 with six loads traded. The barrel cheese price increased a penny, closing at $1.45 with one load traded. Trading in barrels has been rare since the price was removed from the Federal Order class price calculation. The dry whey price increased 2.00 cents, closing at 74.00 cents with no loads traded. Class III futures turned higher after cheese and the dry whey prices increased, with contracts ranging from 4 cents lower to 19 cents higher, with only the July and November contracts posting losses. The butter price remained unchanged at $1.7050 with four loads traded. Grade A nonfat declined a penny to close at $1.59 with one load traded. Class IV futures are 11 cents lower to 12 cents higher. Butter futures are 2.12 cents lower to 2.27 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 0.17 cent lower to 0.75 cent higher. Cheese futures are 0.20 cent lower to 1.70 cents higher.

Tuesday Morning Dairy Market Update - Traders May Show Little Interest Ahead of Spot Trading

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	Mixed
Class IV Milk Futures:	Mixed
Butter Futures:	Mixed

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	3 to 4 Lower
Soybean Futures:	1 to 2 Lower
Soybean Meal Futures:	$2 to $3 Lower
Wheat Futures:	6 to 8 Lower

MILK:

It may be difficult for milk futures to find good buying interest ahead of spot trading. The weakness of Class III futures last week will be difficult to overcome unless there is strong buyer interest in the spot cheese and dry whey markets. The spot cheese market has been choppy and is expected to remain that way for a time. Class IV futures have shown greater support due to the strength in butter, but futures are not expected to trend higher without further support from the spot butter price. The January Milk Production report will be released on Friday and will have an impact on the market.

CHEESE:

Cheese prices are expected to remain choppy. Supplies are sufficient for demand, with buyers showing little concern about supply tightness. This is not expected to change anytime soon. Milk production is holding and improving, with sufficient milk available for the vat and spot prices running below class.

BUTTER:

The weakness in the spot price on Friday could carry over to Tuesday as buyers may hold back to see if sellers become more aggressive at the higher price. Cream supplies are abundant, and butter plants are running seven days a week.

Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - Fluid Milk Sales Increased 1.2%

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Class III futures closed lower for the week, while Class IV futures closed mixed compared to the previous week. The block cheese price declined during the week, while barrels held steady. There has not been a significant change in fundamentals during the week.

MILK:

The volatility in milk futures during the week, at times, had milk futures moving in the opposite direction compared to the movement of spot prices. Those are times during which we scratch our heads, wondering why. Short-term traders like volatility as they have a better chance of making a quick profit from the market, and there was no shortage of that.

The fluid milk sales report for December was released, showing that packaged milk sales were 1.2% higher than in December 2024. Whole milk sales were 4.6% above a year earlier. Flavored whole milk increased 8.2%; reduced-fat milk sales were steady. Low-fat milk declined 4.2%; fat-free skim milk declined 5.5%; flavored fat-reduced milk declined 1.2%; buttermilk increased 0.7%; and other fluid milk sales increased 3.2%. Organic whole milk sales decreased 1.1%; organic flavored whole milk increased 13.0%; organic reduced fat decreased 2.5%; organic low fat decreased 2.5%; organic low fat decreased 19.7%; organic fat-free declined 3.6%; organic flavored fat-reduced increased 18.0%, while other organic fluid milk sales decreased 11.4%. The markets will be closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$15.82
6 Month:	$16.50
9 Month:	$16.98
12 Month:	$17.10

CHEESE:

For the week, blocks declined 8.50 cents with 10 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4110. Barrels remained unchanged with no loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.44. Dry whey declined a penny with one load traded. The weekly average price is 72.20 cents. The block cheese price declined each day this week.

BUTTER:

For the week, butter declined 0.50 cent with 113 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.6705. It has been a long time since this volume of loads has been traded over the course of one week. The Grade A nonfat dry milk price declined 4.00 cents with 17 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5995.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

March corn closed up .50 cent per bushel at $4.3175, March soybeans closed down 4.25 cents at $11.3300 and March soybean meal closed up $1.30 per ton at $309.20. March Chicago wheat closed down 3.75 cents at $5.4875. April live cattle closed down $0.03 at $240.63. March crude oil is up $.02 per barrel at $62.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 49 points at 49,501, with the NASDAQ down 50 points at 22,547.