OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | 10 to 30 Higher |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | 10 to 15 Higher |
| Butter Futures: | 1 to 2 Higher |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | 3 to 5 Lower |
| Soybean Futures: | 5 to 8 Lower |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | Steady to $1 Lower |
| Wheat Futures: | 4 to 6 Lower |
MILK:
Milk futures are got a boost from higher butter and cheese prices during spot trading Thursday. Further strength is seen due to the bullish numbers on the October Milk Production report. Milk production fell below a year ago with production per cow lower for the third consecutive month. Heavy culling continued pulling the nation's dairy herd below a year ago. This should eventually tighten milk supply if demand remain strong. The projection of higher prices next year as seen in futures, has not been enough to result in farmers holding on to cows or even adding cows. Higher expenses will require higher milk prices to remain profitable.
CHEESE:
The increase of cheese prices Thursday was a welcomed sight. The close of spot trading with unfilled bids remaining suggests further gains will be seen Friday. With much of the holiday purchasing finished, it will be interesting to see how aggressive they will be. However, buyers may be looking ahead to potential tighter supply and will desire to purchase for inventory.
BUTTER:
Butter pushed quickly higher Thursday after floundering for a while. With inventory declining and potentially tighter milk supply ahead, buyers may want to increase ownership early rather than wait until later. They may not want to wait to see if price may settle back after the holidays.
