MILK:
Milk production has been mostly flat to declining. Loads of milk have stabilized and transporting milk to schools and other places has been undisruptive for the most part. Fluid milk from the Midwest is being delivered to places in the South since it's a little more available and meeting most of their needs. Cream availability is tight; certain places are looking for additional loads. Ice cream producers have slowed down on cream purchasing as summer came to an end, while cream cheese producers have picked up speed.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $20.33 |
| 6 Month: | $20.23 |
| 9 Month: | $20.24 |
| 12 Month: | $20.35 |
CHEESE:
Spot cheese price for blocks saw an increase of 5 cents, but barrel prices are still higher despite being a penny shorter. Milk volume is starting to tighten for cheesemakers despite running steady production schedules. Some plants aren't able to run full schedules due to employee shortages and supply delivery delays. Cheese export demand is strong and supports stronger domestic pricing. Demand in the food service and retail sectors are steady to lower as store prices climb higher. Cheese inventory is available. Nonfat dry milk spot price was unmoved in price and in trading, while dry whey had a 0.25 uptick in price at $0.4525.
BUTTER:
Butter saw no trading activity and no movement in price. Demand is picking up as the fall holiday season approaches. Production is held back a bit as butter manufacturers are not churning, using cream for other uses. Cream isn't as available on the spot market. Higher market prices are keeping shoppers from making more butter purchases, and buyers hope supply will become more available with better prices. Food service demand is steady -- only buying what they need in the near-term. Bulk butter demand is strong. Loads of unsalted butter are harder to come by compared to salted butter.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
December corn fell 10.50 cents, closing at $6.6625 per bushel. November soybeans were down 14.50 cents to $14.1125 per bushel. October soybean meal down $7.30 to close at $432.60 per ton. December wheat settled at $9.5800, falling 22 cents. October live cattle declined $0.77 to close at $143.47. November crude oil fell $2.07 to settle at $76.67 per barrel. The DOW declined 330 points, ending at 29,260. NASDAQ was down 65 points to close at 10,802.
