MILK:
The market was in the grips of herd mentality much of the day. Once the fear of the crowd ran its course, futures settled down a bit. Class III contracts from May through February closed with double-digit gains, but well off their highs. Futures look like they might be developing a sideways range. Prices may have reached a plateau based on recent market movement, but volatility will continue. Milk production is termed as steady to increasing from low levels of the winter. Cow comfort is improving in most areas, but there are less cows than there were a year ago. Production per cow is lower. However, USDA might make a revision to production per cow as it seemed like they may have overcorrected from the December production report. We will not know until the production report is released in another week. Grain futures were under pressure, with the exception of soybean meal, which posted further gains.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $23.47 |
| 6 Month: | $23.81 |
| 9 Month: | $23.73 |
| 12 Month: | $23.22 |
CHEESE:
The market did not provide solid direction during spot trading. Barrels did increase, but blocks did not show any interest from buyers. Buying and selling interest changes from day to day, leaving no way of anticipating who may be more aggressive in the market Tuesday. Supply is sufficient for demand but there is concern supply may tighten as the year progresses. That fear is what is providing some of the price support.
BUTTER:
Churning is active and running as full as plants are able based on employee numbers. Cream is readily available and well priced for the most part. Demand is good but has slowed a little mainly for the food service industry. Most of the orders for the Easter season have been shipped. Buyers are looking ahead to expected second quarter demand.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
May corn declined 14.25 cents, closing at $7.4825. May soybeans declined 5.50 cents, ending at $16.7050 with May soybean meal up $7.20 per ton, closing at $484.30 per ton. May wheat declined 10.25 cents, closing at $10.9625. April live cattle jumped $3.02, closing at $140.32. April crude oil fell $6.32 per barrel, closing at $103.01. The DOW closed one point higher at 32,945 while the NASDAQ fell 263 points, closing at 13,581.
