In California, Class I customers are taking steady loads of milk. Class II demands are a bit lower as ice cream makers have reduced their intakes. Milk production remains steady to increasing in the state. Spot loads are limited, but supplies are enough to meet the needs of contractual buyers.
In Arizona, milk yield is unchanged from last week. It is almost the end of daily high temperatures, so milk output is expected to start inclining soon. Milk supplies are well balanced with demands. Handlers are pulling steady loads for their customers. Milk transportations across Arizona and other western states have been limited. Class I requests are stable. In New Mexico, milk loads are moving steadily from dairy farms to processing facilities. Milk outputs have improved a bit from a week ago as the weather has started to cool down. Class I requests are steady, but Class II demands declined a tad. Class III sales are active. Manufacturing plants are running close to full capacities despite the occasional repair and maintenance projects that are taking place.
Pacific Northwest milk production is steady. Industry contacts say the fire and air quality situations have improved. Cooler temperatures and some rain entered the region over the weekend, providing better air quality and cow comfort. Contacts suggest the smoke and fires had only a minor impact on overall milk production. There is plenty of milk for manufacturing. Most processing facilities are running at or near full capacity. Bottling demand is variable. With educational institutions varying from virtual classrooms to regular in-person instruction, bottlers are finding it harder to gauge what type of packaging to focus on, school cartons or milk jugs.
Milk production in mountain states of Idaho, Utah, and Colorado, is strong and steady. Milk volumes are easily filling processing needs. While there does not seem to be any significant issues with the milk abundance, there are still a few discounted, $4 under Class IV, loads of spot milk. Contacts say loads are moving around the region trying to find the right processing home. Condensed skim is being moved from one state to another to meet buyers' needs.
Western cream usage for ice cream production is declining. This has resulted in more cream loads going to the churns in the West, except for California where cream supplies are slightly tighter. Cream multiples for all Classes remain in the range of 1.05 to 1.25.
Western U.S., F.O.B. Cream
Multiples Range - All Classes: 1.0500 - 1.2500
Information for the period September 21 - 25, 2020, issued weekly
Secondary Sourced Information:
The NASS Milk Production report noted August 2020 milk production in the 24 selected states was 17.8 billion pounds, 1.9 percent higher from a year ago. Milk cows in the 24 selected states totaled 8.84 million head, 51,000 head more than a year ago. The following table shows western states included in the report and the monthly milk production changes compared to a year ago:
August 2020 Milk Production, (USDA-NASS)
(Million Lb.) % Change From
1 Year Ago
Arizona 360 - 0.8
California 3,382 + 1.8
Colorado 437 + 6.3
Idaho 1,419 + 3.4
New Mexico 670 - 1.5
Oregon 219 - 0.9
Utah 188 - 2.1
Washington 587 -
