MILK:
Milk production continues to slow seasonally. There have been some reports in the East/Northeast indicating milk supplies are fairly tight in some areas. That may be true as milk moves to those areas each year at this time to supply school pipelines. One of the issues that continues to plague the market is the availability of truck drivers to haul the milk. This is not being reflected in higher prices yet. Nor is it expected to at this point. If overall demand increases as the calendar heads toward the end of the year, further support could unpin the market, allowing stronger prices. However, that may be a tall order under current market fundamentals. USDA announced the August Federal Order Class prices. Class II is $16.51, down $0.32 from July, but up $3.24 from August 2020. Class III price is $15.95, down $0.54 from July and down $3.82 from a year ago. Class IV price is $15.92, down $0.08 from July, but up $3.39 from a year ago.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.93 |
| 6 Month: | $17.11 |
| 9 Month: | $17.23 |
| 12 Month: | $17.33 |
CHEESE:
The fundamentals of the cheese market are similar to what they were last week. Plants continue to struggle with insufficient staff to run operations efficiently and also struggle with getting truck drivers to haul product. Cheese sales are reported to be fairly strong with some producers of cheese for pizzas turning down orders due to the inability to keep up. It certainly is a good sign that cheese demand is improving. More milk will be available for manufacturing this weekend as schools will be closed an extra day.
BUTTER:
Cream remains available, but there are some reports of tighter supplies in some areas. Food service orders have improved, but there is concern over the increase of COVID cases in some areas possibly hampering that growth. However, retail should make up much of that difference if consumers opt to dine out less. If consumers dine out less, it may also be made up for by strong take-out demand.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
September corn fell 18.50 cents, closing at $5.1550. September soybeans fell 21 cents, closing at $12.7775 with September soybean meal down $2.70 at $343.70 per ton. September wheat declined 5.75 cents, closing at $7.01. October live cattle gained $0.67, ending at $127.57. October crude oil increased $0.09, closing at $68.59 per barrel. The DOW declined 48 points, closing at 35,312 while the NASDAQ gained 50 points to 15,309.
