MILK:
Class III milk futures closed out the week at the low end of the trading range it has been mid-July. The up-and-down movement of underlying cash leaves little market direction keeping traders cautious and taking only short-term positions rather than trading in a long-term direction. This keeps milk futures volatile and unpredictable. USDA released the August Agricultural Prices report which shows some surprising changes of prices. First, the average corn price declined one cent from July to $7.24 per bushel. The big change took place in soybean meal with the average August price being $510.90 per ton, an increase of $43.03 per ton from July. Premium/supreme hay increased $10.00 per ton to an average of $343.00. These feed prices against the All-milk price of $24.30 moved income over feed to $8.08. The All-milk price declined $1.40 from July. There will be a payment of $1.42 per cwt for those who chose the $9.50 level under the Dairy Margin Coverage program. This is the lowest income over feed since September 2021.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $20.74 |
| 6 Month: | $20.52 |
| 9 Month: | $20.43 |
| 12 Month: | $20.39 |
CHEESE:
For the week, blocks gained 0.75 cents with 3 loads traded. Barrels gained 1.50 cents with 10 loads traded. Dry whey declined a penny with 2 loads traded. Spot trading activity was light as buyers either did not need to be aggressive this week for cheese in general or they were able to obtain sufficient supply in the country through regular channels reducing the need to come to the spot market to purchase. There is sufficient supply of fresh cheese for demand with aged cheese in inventory rather burdensome at a record high.
BUTTER:
For the week, butter increased 1.25 cents with 32 loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk decreased a penny with 5 loads traded. Price has not moved much this week as buyers and sellers are comfortable doing business at this level. Buyers see limited downside risk with sellers seeing limited upside potential.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
December corn gained 8 cents closing at $6.7750. November soybeans fell 46 cents closing at $13.6475 with October soybean meal down $5.90 ending at $403.20 per ton. December wheat gained 25.25 cents closing at $9.2150. October live cattle declined $0.85 ending at $143.27. November crude oil declined $1.74 closing at $79.49 per barrel. The DOW fell 500 points closing at 28,726 while the NASDAQ declined 162 points closing at 10,576.
