MILK
Class III milk futures increased 1 cent to settle at $24.32 for April. May futures slipped 2 cents to $24.55. June slipped 4 cents, settling at $24.78. Class IV milk futures for April were unchanged at $25.20. May futures were down 4 cents to $24.62. June declined 21 cents, settling at $24.24. February fluid product sales totaled 3.5 billion pounds, 3% lower than a year earlier. Conventional fluid milk declined by 3%, and organic fluid milk fell by 3.9%.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $24.55 |
| 6 Month: | $24.52 |
| 9 Month: | $24.14 |
| 12 Month: | $23.54 |
CHEESE
Cold storage American cheese totaled 822.2 million pounds, slipping 1% from a year ago and from the previous month. Swiss cheese was at 23 million pounds, up 2% from a year ago, but down 8% from a month ago. Other cheese totaled 612.8 million pounds, staying level from a year ago and from the previous month. Total natural cheese slipped 1% from a year ago, totaling over 1.5 billion pounds. This was also 1% lower from a month ago.
BUTTER
Cold storage butter held 283.1 million pounds, declining 20% from a year ago and increasing 8% from February. Butter prices rising in grocery stores are contributing to the decline in consumer demand. Bulk butter ranges from 5 to 15 cents above market.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
May corn declined 6.25 cents, settling at $7.9550 per bushel. May soybeans fell 32.25 cents to $17.16 per bushel. Soybean meal futures were down $10.10 to $458.80. May wheat declined 2.50 cents to $10.6450. Live cattle were down $1.65 to $142.45. June crude oil slipped $1.72, settling at $102.07. The Dow dropped 981 points to 33,811, and the NASDAQ fell 335 to 12,839.
