MILK
Class III and Class IV futures posted nice gains again today extending the strength from yesterday. May Class III futures closed at $25.02 and will remain near that level during the rest of the life of the contract. Some adjustment of price will take place when the weekly AMS product prices are released, but price will flat-line for the most part during the next two weeks until the May Federal Order prices are announced. This will be a record high Class III price. The great aspect of it is that milk checks will not suffer from the large negative Producer Price Differentials that plagued the market in 2020. Milk checks will be phenomenal and much needed due to high cost of everything else that goes into milk production. Unless the market changes, it may be the high price of the year. The Global Dairy Trade auction trade weighted average declined 2.9% on today's event marking the fifth consecutive decline. Anhydrous milk fat increased 0.6% to $6,043 per metric ton, or $2.74 per pound. Butter decreased 1.0% to $5,750 per metric ton, or $2.61 per pound. Cheddar cheese slipped 0.1% to $5,635 per metric ton, or $2.56 per pound. Skim milk powder declined 0.6% to $4,116 per metric ton, or $1.87 per pound. Whole milk powder declined 4.9% to $3,934 per metric ton, or $1.78 per pound. Buttermilk powder was not offered with lactose and sweet whey powder showing no prices. USDA will release the April Milk Production report Wednesday.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $24.68 |
| 6 Month: | $24.20 |
| 9 Month: | $23.52 |
| 12 Month: | $22.74 |
CHEESE
Prices have popped back up into the range they had previously been in for a few weeks. Barrels made a new high today, moving the price back to the highest level it has been since November 2020. Blocks are poised to make a new high that would put them back to that period of time as well. There could be some buyer resistance at these levels, but that will be seen during the next few days.
BUTTER
Butter futures have been trending higher during the past week as they keep pace with underlying cash. Traders still are not putting premium into futures and are content to just keep them aligned. Butter inventory continues to increase seasonally but are not gaining on last year.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
July corn was down 8.75 cents, closing at $8.0075. July soybeans jumped 21.50 cents to close at $16.78 with July soybean meal down $1.80 per ton, closing at $411.80. July wheat jumped 30 cents, ending at $12.77 1/2. June live cattle slipped $0.17, ending at $133.00. June crude oil was down $1.80, closing at $112.40 per barrel. The Dow gained 431 points, closing at 32,655 points, while the NASDAQ gained 322 points to close at 11,985 points.
