MILK
Milk futures fell out of bed today with Class III contracts posting substantial losses. The September contract closed as much as 60 cents lower with all others down substantially. The weakness erupted after cheese and butter prices remained unchanged. Traders' attitudes have turned bearish. Class IV futures were unchanged to as much as 26 cents lower. USDA released the Agricultural Prices report showing average prices for calculating income over feed for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. Income over feed was $12.51 and the highest level since the program began in 2015. The average corn price for May was $7.26, up $0.18 from April. The average soybean meal price was $441.28, down $35.42 per ton. Premium/supreme hay price averaged $274 per ton, up $3.00 per ton from April. The All-milk price was $27.30 per cwt.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $22.78 |
| 6 Month: | $22.84 |
| 9 Month: | $22.43 |
| 12 Month: | $21.99 |
CHEESE
Steady cheese prices were bearish to the market. This was similar to recent days when either blocks or barrels remained steady. However, those times were not as bearish as today. The gains of cheese prices the past two days were thrown out of the window with futures eliminating all the gains and then some. The attitude of the trade has quickly turned bearish. It may take a monumental effort for the market to regain today's losses in Class III futures.
BUTTER
Most butter futures were under pressure as well today even though butter is better supported. This shows the trade is not only negative on the potential of milk prices, but also on the whole complex. Price may hold at this level or even move above $3.00, but traders are less optimistic it will hold.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
July corn fell 26.50 cents closing at $7.4375. July soybeans gained 0.75 cents closing at $16.75 with July soybean meal up $6.70 per ton closing at $469.90. July wheat fell 46.75 cents ending at $8.6875. August live cattle gained $0.40 ending at $132.57. August crude oil fell $4.02 per barrel closing at $105.76. The DOW declined 254 points closing at 30,775 while the NASDAQ declined 149 points closing at 11,029.
