OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | Mixed |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | 4 to 8 Higher |
| Butter Futures: | 1 to 2 Higher |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | 5 to 8 Higher |
| Soybean Futures: | 10 to 15 Higher |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | $3 to $4 Higher |
| Wheat Futures: | 12 to 15 Higher |
MILK:
Milk futures continue to march higher as anticipation of tighter supply grows. Even a decline of underlying cash prices does not deter the bullish attitude. It will be interesting to see what milk production did in December. The prospect of higher milk prices may have slowed culling, but we will need to wait until Monday when the report will be released. In general, milk production across the country is termed as steady. There was some impact from the winter storm that moved across a large portion of the country over the weekend. There were delays but no reports of lost milk as of yet. Milk futures will likely show further strength prior to spot trading which has been the pattern recently.
CHEESE:
Block cheese price has not yet found a level at which buyers stepped back in aggressively. Traders anticipate the weakness will be limited. The weakness of blocks compared to barrels has been a surprise as barrel supply had been plentiful for quite some time leaving them priced below blocks. That changed quickly moving the market to an inverted price spread. Cheese inventory closed the year quite a bit higher than last year, which will be seen on the cold storage report that will be released Monday.
BUTTER:
Buyers stepped back in Tuesday to take advantage of the lower butter price. Churning is improving but it will take some time to replenish inventory. Bulk butter supply is tight, and demand is strong both domestically and internationally. Buyers will likely remain aggressive in the spot market Wednesday.
