OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
| CORN: | 4 Lower |
| SOYBEANS: | 9 Higher |
| SOYBEAN MEAL: | $1.20 Lower |
| LIVE CATTLE: | $0.25 Lower |
| DOW JONES: | 363 Points Higher |
| NASDAQ: | 25 Points Higher |
| CRUDE OIL: | $0.29 Lower |
MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:
Block cheese price declined 0.75 cent, closing spot trading at $1.99 with three loads traded. Price decreased to $1.9875 before it bounced back slightly. Barrel cheese price declined 0.75 cent, closing at $1.9525 with no loads traded. The concern for barrels is that the only bid posted during spot trading was at $1.50. This is a concern as many times a low bid or high offer with no other levels of interest in between may indicate where the market will be headed over the next few weeks. Hopefully, there is not a void under the market. Dry whey price declined 2 cents, closing at 44.75 with one load traded. Class III futures are 18 cents lower to 1 cent higher. Butter price increased a penny to $2.41 with nine loads traded. Price initially increased 2 cents before sellers became a little more aggressive. Grade A nonfat dry milk price declined 2 cents, closing at $1.1675 with one load traded. Class IV futures are steady to 11 cents higher with trading confined to the April and May contracts. Butter futures are 0.75 to 1.25 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 1.25 cents lower to 0.85 cent higher. USDA will release the February Milk Production report Monday afternoon. I estimate milk production to be one percent above a year ago with cow numbers down 2,000 head from January.
