MILK
Class III milk futures took a beating with contracts falling substantially due to the pressure on cheese and dry whey prices. The last time dry whey price was at this level was on November 19, 2021. Whey price has declined 44.75 cents since the record high on February 8. This translates into a loss of $2.6850 on the Class III price as each one-cent move of dry whey equates to a 6-cent move in Class III price. The Federal Order class prices were announced today for July. Class II price is $26.66, up a penny from June and a record high. The Class III price is $22.52, a decrease of $1.81 from June. The Class IV price is $25.70, down $0.04 from the previous month. Milk production continues to taper off with impact from hot weather taking its toll. This is not causing any concern for cheese buyers as sufficient milk continues to be available to the market. More milk is beginning to move away from manufacturing to supply the fluid market as bottlers gear up to supply the school systems. USDA will release the June Dairy Products report tomorrow.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $21.15 |
| 6 Month: | $20.22 |
| 9 Month: | $20.01 |
| 12 Month: | $19.84 |
CHEESE
The weakness of barrel cheese today was a surprise as it seemed the market was trying to build support. Buyers see no concern over supply for the time being even though there are some reports that cheese demand has increased for some varieties recently.
BUTTER
It appears there is no stopping butter as price continues to rise. Export demand may slow due to world butter at $2.36 while the U.S. price is at $3.06. Some plants are now selling some of their cream supply rather than churning as they have difficulty staffing plants. This hinders them from keeping production facilities full. However, this provides them with the ability to take care of maintenance before they try to increase production into the fall. The Dairy Products report tomorrow will show how much butter output was reduced in June.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
September corn closed 0.25 cents higher at $5.9150. August soybeans declined 11.25 cents closing at $15.58 with August soybean meal down $7.50 per ton at $481.70. September wheat declined 11 cents closing at $7.6375. August live cattle gained $1.32 ending at $137.90. September crude oil fell $3.76 closing at $90.66 per barrel. The DOW jumped 416 points closing at 32,813 while the NASDAQ gained 319 points ending at 12,668.
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