MILK
Class III milk futures showed some nice gains to end the week, but cheese prices closed below $1.90 leaving the market in a negative posture. The week began with futures moving higher supported by the strength of cheese prices. However, that ran its course by Wednesday as buyers pulled back from the market. Class IV faired better for the week but did not gain as much as Class III did today. Nonfat dry milk was a bit of an anchor on futures. The forecast for hot weather next week will have an impact on milk production but it may not have a significant impact on overall supply. USDA released the June Agricultural Prices report showing average prices for the month. The average corn price for June was $7.37. an increase of $0.11 per bushel from May. Premium/ supreme hay price averaged $277.00 per ton, up $3.00 per ton from May. The All-milk price was $26.90, down $0.40 per cwt from May. The Farm Service Agency has not yet released the average soybean meal price for the month making it not possible to provide the income over feed price for the month. I will update that on Monday.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $21.08 |
| 6 Month: | $20.86 |
| 9 Month: | $20.44 |
| 12 Month: | $20.15 |
CHEESE
For the week, blocks declined 3 cents with 12 loads traded. Barrels declined 3.25 cents with 10 loads traded. The volume of loads traded was quite an improvement over the past few weeks. Maybe buyers are beginning to look ahead again and are becoming interested in purchasing at these lower prices. Unfortunately, cheese prices closed below $1.90 and the lowest they have been since early February. Dry whey declined a penny this week with one load traded. This is the lowest price it has been since December 1, 2020.
BUTTER
For the week, butter gained 8.25 cents ending with 43 loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk price declined 4.50 cents with 11 loads traded. Price is at the lowest it has been since December 13, 2021. Butter continues to see a lot of activity on the spot market. Both buyers and sellers remain active as price is attractive for both. Churning is active but not at capacity due to labor and trucking issues. However, this continues to keep the market balanced.
*I will be at the World Dairy Expo this year in Madison, Wisconsin in the AgMarket.net booth TC 664. If you are making plans to attend, please stop by the booth to say Hi and see what we have to offer. The dates for the trade show are October 4-7.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
September corn gained 1.25 cents closing at $6.1625. August soybeans gained 27.75 cents closing at $16.37 with August soybean meal up $5.60 per ton closing at $495.30. September whet declined 9.25 cents closing at $8.0775. August live cattle gained $0.27 closing at $136.45. September crude oil gained $2.20 per barrel closing at $98.62. The DOW gained 316 points closing at 32,845 while the NASDAQ gained 228 points ending at 12,391.
