Farm milk production in California is steady to higher as favorable weather is supportive of cow comfort. Manufacturers have plenty of milk for most processing needs. With schools’ bottling orders on hold for winter break and some processors running short schedules over the holiday, milk handlers expect a surge of available milk in the short term. Class I sales are lower during this holiday week. Large amounts of milk/cream have been clearing into dryers and churns.
Cow’s milk output has plateaued in Arizona. Milk volumes are ample, but plant managers report no major issues managing milk supplies. With the closing of educational institutions for the holidays, milk shipments into Class I have declined. In order to help to clear large cream supplies, some churners have been running at full capacity since the beginning of the week.
Milk production in New Mexico is strong and growing. Balancing plant managers are actively running full schedules, helping to clear some milk volumes within the state. Shipments into Class I and II have seasonally declined, which is normal at this time of the year.
Milk production in the Pacific Northwest is strong and steady. Manufacturers say they are getting plenty of milk to keep their facilities full. Bottling demand has increased slightly ahead of the holidays, but milk handlers expect this to level off later in the week. Contacts do not think there will be any problems finding homes for available milk.
Milk production in the mountain states of Idaho, Utah, and Colorado remains strong. Plentiful milk is keeping manufacturing facilities full. While industry contacts say there isn’t any milk hitting the ground, milk loads are available at the typical $4 under Class IV discount. Some contacts think this discount could increase over the holidays. The contacts add that if there are any production hiccups at processing facilities, they may need to discard some milk.
In the West, condensed skim volumes are becoming more accessible, in line with the strong regional farm milk production. A good portion of these condensed skim supplies has been balanced into dryers. Some balancing plants are anticipated to be busy over the holidays, converting condensed skim milk into NDM. The western cream market is on a bearish situation as supply is beyond its current demand. Some processors are churning their cream instead of selling at a discount value. Cream processing is very busy at most plants. Cream multiples are lower from the previous week.
Western U.S., F.O.B. Cream
Multiples Range - All Classes: 0.9500 - 1.2200
