MILK
Class III milk futures continued to weaken as Thursday progressed. Near the close of the day's trading activity, May and June contracts were down 60 cents and more. That has almost eliminated the gains of the past week.
Double-digit losses were seen through the November contract. This set a negative tone in the market after a brief bounce which turned traders a bit more bullish. That thought was premature with buyers liquidating their positions today. Interestingly, December through March contracts were steady and higher.
USDA released the World Agricultural Supply and Demand (WASDE) report today which indicated grain prices will remain under pressure unless weather can turn the market higher. That may be a tall order based on it being early in the planting season.
The report also showed a decrease of 1 billion pounds from the March estimate to the current estimate of 226.3 billion pounds. That was a huge drop in potential milk production. If this comes to fruition, production would be 100 million pounds lower than in 2023.
USDA left last year's milk production unchanged at 226.4 billion pounds. The estimate for exports on a fat basis was raised by 200 million pounds while at the same time reducing exports on a skim-solids basis by 300 million pounds. Marketings on a fat basis were reduced by 1 billion pounds and reduced on a skim-solids basis by 1 billion pounds totaling 225.3 billion pounds.
The Class III milk price was reduced by $0.95 to an average of $16.20, down $0.82 from 2023. The Class IV milk price was raised by $0.30 to an average of $20.40. The All-milk price average was reduced by $0.35 to an average of $20.90.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $15.75 |
| 6 Month: | $16.62 |
| 9 Month: | $17.20 |
| 12 Month: | $17.339 |
CHEESE
USDA estimates cheese to average $1.62, a decrease of 9 cents from the March estimate. This compares to an average price of $1.7593 in 2023. Dry whey price was reduced by 2.50 cents to an average of 42.50 cents which compares to the average price in 2023 of 36.18 cents per pound.
BUTTER
The average butter price was raised by 12.50 cents to the average of $2.9250 per pound. This compares to the average price in 2023 of $2.6170. Nonfat dry milk price was reduced by 3 cents to an average of $1.18 per pound and just slightly lower than last year.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
May corn closed down 5.50 cents per bushel at $4.2875, May soybeans closed down 5.50 cents at $11.5925 and May soybean meal closed up $4.70 per ton at $335.60. May Chicago wheat closed down 6.75 cents at $5.5175. June live cattle closed up $1.05 at $173.90. May crude oil is down $0.63 per barrel at $85.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 2 points at 38,459 with the NASDAQ up 272 points at 16,442.
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