MILK
Class III futures closed steady to lower as traders retain a bearish attitude in the market. The July contract fell below $14.00 for a brief period today. That is a level we have not seen since May 2020. There is not much to say about the market than what has already been said. Milk supply is plentiful leaving sufficient milk available for bottling and manufacturing. Milk futures continue to decline as buyers are not aggressively looking for product. Block price did increase today but that may be short-lived or might move into a sideways trading range. Traders have seen these increases before, which have been short-lived resulting in lower prices. It is uncertain how close the market is getting to the lows, but if a low is found, it is unlikely the market will rebound very quickly. Milk production is trending steady to weaker depending on the area. This does not mean milk output will run below a year ago as production generally trends lower during this time of year as summer weather impacts cow comfort. FSA has yet to release the average soybean meal price for May. We do not yet know the income over feed price for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. Markets will be closed tomorrow for the July 4 holiday but will reopen tomorrow evening at the regular time of 5 p.m. Central time.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $14.94 |
| 6 Month: | $16.10 |
| 9 Month: | $16.64 |
| 12 Month: | $16.93 |
CHEESE
It was good to see block cheese price increase, but it is uncertain whether price will find further support or if it will be short-lived as the other price increases have been. Cheese yields may begin to decrease as hotter weather impacts components, but there is a sufficient supply of nonfat dry milk that will be used in the cheese vat to improve yields.
BUTTER
Price moved above the top end of the trading range with the increase today. Price hit $2.4650 on June 1 with price closing at $2.4675 today. Price may begin to slowly trend higher but not without choppy price movement. Buyers are not likely to be very aggressive as they have already purchased some supply for later demand.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
December corn closed down 1.25 cents per bushel at $4.9350, November soybeans closed up 10.50 cents at $13.5375 and December soybean meal closed down $1.30 per ton at $396.00. September Chicago wheat closed down 9.25 cents at $6.4175. August live cattle closed down $0.35 at $176.83. August crude oil is down $0.85 per barrel at $69.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 11 points at 34,418 with the NASDAQ up 29 points at 13,817.
