MILK
It is reported that overall milk demand from retail markets is strong. Some demand from the food service industry supplying schools is lower this week and likely next week due to spring breaks taking place. Milk continue to move between regions to supply areas that need more to fill demand or because plants are running full and need to divert extra milk to plant that have capacity. Demand for Class II has improved, as there has been increased demand for seasonal cream-based products due to the upcoming Passover/Easter season. The April Class I price was announced Wednesday at $15.51, an increase of $0.31 from March. USDA will release the February Milk Production report Thursday. There will need to be an adjustment made to the numbers that will be released due to last year being a leap year. This means the first look at the numbers will not be an accurate representation of milk output. The numbers are generally calculated on a 30-day basis to get an accurate representation of gain or loss.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $17.23 |
| 6 Month: | $17.69 |
| 9 Month: | $17.91 |
| 12 Month: | $17.84 |
CHEESE
Cheese demand is reported as mixed. Most plants indicate strong demand for most types of cheese. Some curd producers have reported a slight slowdown in demand recently. That may be why spot cheese prices have been somewhat sideways and choppy. Some plants have reduced production as they have shut lines down for maintenance ahead of the spring flush period. Some plants indicate they are having difficulty keeping up with demand. This may be variety specific but may be tied to increasing demand from the restaurant industry.
BUTTER
Cream supplies have tightened recently. This may be due to increased demand from Class II plants to increase production for higher-fat seasonal products. Food service demand is slowly improving, and retail demand is strong as Easter demand is gearing up. Having said that, price is having a difficult time breaking above the $1.7150 level with further weakness again Wednesday.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
May corn gained 3.75 cents, closing at $5.58. May soybeans declined 5.50 cents, ending at $14.1757, with May soybean meal down $1.20 per ton, closing at $404.90. May wheat lost 7 cents, ending at $6.40. April live cattle jumped $1.22, closing at $119.42. April crude oil slipped $0.20, ending at $64.60. The Dow gained 189 points, closing at 33,015 and a new high. The NASDAQ gained 54 points, closing at 13,525.
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