MILK:
Class III milk futures closed higher in some contracts while most remained unchanged for the day. The limited price movement of the underlying cash provided little for traders to hang their hat on. The trading volume was rather light and may not move back to full trading until next week. Class IV futures showed no trading activity even though butter and nonfat dry milk prices slipped. The December Federal Order class prices were announced today. The Class II price is $21.28, down $0.24 from November but up $1.40 from December 2023. The Class III price is $18.62, down $1.33 from November but up $2.58 from a year earlier. The Class IV price is $20.74, down $0.38 from November but up $1.51 from a year ago.
The FSA released the November average soybean meal price this morning which was needed to calculate the income over feed price for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. The average soybean meal price was $316.18 per ton. This price was down $26.67 from the October price. This puts the income over feed price at $14.29, down $0.88 from October and far above the $9.50 level that would trigger a payment.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $20.32 |
| 6 Month: | $19.86 |
| 9 Month: | $19.57 |
| 12 Month: | $19.37 |
CHEESE:
Cheese prices maintain the recent gains indicating the market may have found support with limited downside risk. Buyers may not be interested in stepping back to see if sellers would have cheese to offer to the market providing an opportunity to purchase at lower prices. Buyers would rather hedge against higher prices rather than speculate over potential weakness. Cheese inventory may begin to increase but it will remain below a year ago for the foreseeable future.
BUTTER:
The butter price is expected to see a limited downside as buyers may step in to take advantage of lower prices. There will be interest in building inventory to increase supplies in the case that milk production and cream supplies tighten over time.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
March corn closed up 1.00 cent per bushel at $4.5950, March soybeans closed up 1.50 cents at $10.1200 and March soybean meal closed up $3.00 per ton at $319.90. March Chicago wheat closed down 5.75 cents at $5.4575. February live cattle closed up $2.00 at $193.60. February crude oil is up $1.41 per barrel at $73.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 152 points at 42,392 with the NASDAQ down 30 points at 19,281.
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