MILK:
Milk production in most of the country is heading into spring flush. Just how much increase in overall production will be realized is yet to be seen. We do know more milk will be on the market compared to a year ago as there was quite a bit of milk dumped last year due to the disruption of COVID-19. It will be interesting to see if all the milk this year will be able to be processed. Even with restrictions by plants on milk volumes, the growth of milk production may still require some milk to be dumped at some point during the flush season. Hopefully, it can be processed and utilized, but plant capacity may be at a premium as the next few months unfold. Dairy Market News reported some contacts indicate milk yields from January to February exceeded the same period in 2020 by double-digit gains. Weather was more conducive for production gains, except for that week-long winter storm in February. But that did not really have much of an overall impact on the market. Class III milk futures continue to grind higher with some contracts posting double-digit gains Monday. Buyer interest continues to provide support to the market for the time being.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $18.29 |
| 6 Month: | $18.52 |
| 9 Month: | $18.46 |
| 12 Month: | $18.23 |
CHEESE:
American cheese production during the month of February totaled 425 million pounds. This was an increase of 1.6% above February 2020. This indicates very strong production due to February having one less day than it had a year ago. Italian type cheese production totaled 444 million pounds, 0.9% below a year earlier. Total cheese production reached 1.04 billion pounds and was 1.1% above February 2020. Dry whey output totaled 77.0 million pounds, up 0.7% from a year ago.
BUTTER:
Butter production in February totaled 186 million pounds and was 1.3% below a year ago. Nonfat dry milk production totaled 186 million pounds, up 17.1%. Skim milk powder was down 23.0% at 29.6 million pounds. Churns and dryers have been busy utilizing available milk and cream to produce product and fulfill demand. This has kept supply readily available, but demand continues to support price.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
May corn declined 6.50 cents, closing at $5.5325. May soybeans gained 10.75 cents, closing at $14.1275 with May soybean meal down $3.90 per ton, closing at $406.30. May wheat gained 7 cents, closing at $6.18. April live cattle gained $1.35, ending at $121.37. May crude oil fell $2.80, closing at $58.65 per barrel. The DOW gained 374 points, closing at 33,527 while the NASDAQ gained 225 points, closing at 13,706.
