MILK
Traders remained very cautious in Class III futures. The increase of cheese prices had a limited impact on futures with nearby months showing the only gains. January posted a gain of $0.52, moving price back up to $19.25. February showed a lesser gain of $0.29 with March up $0.08 and April up $0.01. The rest of the contracts closed lower as traders were not as optimistic in later months. Milk continues to increase in the Central region of the country as the weather has been good up until now. The winter storm will have some impact on cow comfort and the movement of milk. However, it is expected to be temporary as the storm system passes and the weather settles down again. The holiday season will experience some difficulties not only with the weather but getting milk processed. There are already some reports of spot loads of milk being available at $10 under class to find a place willing to take it. In general, plants have sufficient capacity to handle the milk with bargains available.
Average Class III Prices
| 3 Month: | $19.44 |
| 6 Month: | $19.18 |
| 9 Month: | $19.37 |
| 12 Month: | $19.56 |
CHEESE
USDA released the November Cold Storage report, which showed a decrease of inventory in all categories. American cheese stocks declined 15.6 million pounds, totaling 815.7 million pounds. This is 2% below a year ago. Swiss cheese inventory declined 356,000 pounds, totaling 21.6 million pounds. This is 4% above a year ago. Other cheese stocks declined 2.3 million pounds, totaling 592.6 million pounds. This put total cheese inventory at 1.430 billion pounds, a decline of 18.3 million pounds from October and 1% above November 2021. This is the highest November total cheese inventory ever recorded.
BUTTER
The cold storage report showed a significant decline of 40.0 million pounds, bringing inventory to 199.7 million pounds. This is now only 5% below a year ago. If the pattern of the past few months continues, inventory for the year may close near where it was a year ago, if not higher. Inventory was not expected to catch up this much by the end of the year.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
March corn declined 1.75 cents, closing at $6.6050. January soybeans declined 13.25 cents, closing at $14.6775, with January soybean meal down $4 per ton, closing at $452. March wheat declined 5.50 cents, closing at $7.6225. December live cattle declined $0.22, ending at $155.90. February crude oil lost $0.80, ending at $77.49 per barrel. The Dow lost 349 points, closing at 33,027, while the Nasdaq lost 233 points, closing at 10,476.
