Monday Closing Dairy Market Update - On Again Off Again Tariff Story Continues

MILK:

Milk futures found a little relief this Monday as it has been reported that President Trump will hold off on any tariffs with Mexico for 30 days after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will send 10,000 troops to the border to help stop drug trafficking and illegal border crossings. Mexico is a large importer of dairy products from the U.S. and retaliation from Mexico could cause a lot of problems for the U.S. dairy farmer. Canada, an importer of over $1 billion worth of U.S. dairy products, will now also be seeing a 30-day pause on tariffs as of 3:30 p.m. CST this afternoon. Prime Minister Trudeau announced on his social media page that he too, will be reinforcing the Canadian border with new helicopters, technology and personnel. China stated Monday morning that they would like to re-implement the "phase 1" trade deal that began in Trump's first presidency, no details regarding this are available at this time.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$19.86
6 Month:	$19.41
9 Month:	$19.21
12 Month:	$19.12

CHEESE:

Cheese futures had small gains today, up 2.5 cents while block and barrels suffered losses of 1.5 cents to 2 cents. There is an adequate supply of cheese available but not an abundance should buyers want to stock up. The uncertainty with a looming trade war doesn't make anyone too likely to do so today.

BUTTER:

Butter futures declined 0.32 cents to 1.375 cents today with the cash market off slightly. Butter will be one to watch in the coming months as The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement was already under scrutiny with statements about how Canada has been historically unfair in their classification of yogurt and cheese products as well as Trump's frustration with their butterfat quota system. He called for Prime Minister Trudeau to get rid of their supply management system back in 2018.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

March corn closed 6.75 cents per bushel higher at $4.8875, March soybeans closed up 16.25 cents at $10.5825 and March soybean meal closed up $0.26 per ton at $303.50. March Chicago wheat closed up 7.25 cents at $5.6675. April live cattle closed down $1.625 at $202.975. March crude oil is 23 cents lower per barrel at $72.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 122 points at 44,421 with the NASDAQ down 235 points at 19,391.