Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - Class IV Milk Futures Fall

MILK:

Class III milk futures did not move much for the week. Volatility was limited in light trading volume. Underlying cash prices did not provide much direction but did not allow for much upward price movement. There had been anticipation that further strength in cheese might develop. Cheese prices did increase, but the gains were not realized due to the weakness of dry whey. Class IV futures suffered significant losses throughout the week. This has brought Class IV futures right in line with Class III. It has been quite some time since both classes have been near similar price levels for much of the rest of the year. The current milk production is steady and below a year ago. There is no concern over a milk shortage. Some plants would like more and are having difficulty finding spot milk to purchase. Overall, the plants have a sufficient supply to meet demand. The markets will be closed on Monday for President's Day.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$19.75
6 Month:	$19.30
9 Month:	$19.16
12 Month:	$18.98

CHEESE:

For the week, blocks increased 6 cents with eight loads traded. Barrels increased by 3.75 cents with eight loads traded. Dry whey declined 3.25 cents with four loads traded. The weakness of dry whey offset the gains of cheese which kept Class III milk futures mixed for the week. The market seems balanced with the buyers seeing no need to be aggressive and the sellers seeing no need to panic sell.

BUTTER:

For the week, butter declined by 0.25 cent with 51 loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk declined by 5 cents with 15 loads traded. The weakness of nonfat dry milk kept pressure on Class IV futures. Futures moved to the lowest levels since early March 2024. The butter price reached a new low for the year. Grade A nonfat dry milk fell to the lowest level since Aug. 23, 2024.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

March corn closed up 2.75 cents per bushel at $4.9625, March soybeans closed up 6.00 cents at $10.3600 and March soybean meal closed up $3.20 per ton at $295.90. March Chicago wheat closed up 22.25 cents at $6.0000. April live cattle closed down $2.28 at $194.25. March crude oil is down $0.64 per barrel at $70.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 165 points at 44,546 with the NASDAQ up 81 points at 20,027.