OVERVIEW:
Milk futures did not change much today due to limited price movement in the spot market. Class III futures were slightly higher while Class IV futures were mostly lower. Butter and cheese prices showed significant declines for the week.
MILK:
Both Class III and Class IV milk futures declined for the week, with Class IV contracts showing the greatest losses. The weakness of the underlying cash kept the pressure on prices. Unfortunately, this is not expected to change anytime soon. At best, we can hope for some stability to be maintained moving through the rest of the year. Futures throughout 2026 do not look very profitable at this point, but a lot can change over the next 12 months. The current fundamentals and the time of year do not hold much hope for improving milk prices anytime soon. The USDA will release the delayed September Milk Production report on Monday. This was a critical report for Dairy Revenue Protection insurance as it finished out the quarter of coverage. Without the report, the quarterly coverage could not be calculated, and this was delaying payouts of the insurance coverage.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.90 |
| 6 Month: | $16.79 |
| 9 Month: | $16.94 |
| 12 Month: | $17.14 |
CHEESE:
For the week, block cheese fell 10.75 cents with 25 loads traded. The weekly average price was $1.6560. Barrel cheese fell 10.50 cents with no loads traded. The weekly average price was $1.71. Either the supply of barrels is tight and there is little available to be offered on the spot market, or the demand is lighter, and buyers have no need to come to the spot market to buy. It is definitely seen that there is limited interest either way. The dry whey price for the week remained unchanged at 71.00 cents with four loads traded. The weekly average price is 71.40 cents.
BUTTER:
For the week, butter fell 13.50 cents with 22 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4995. Grade A nonfat dry milk declined 1.25 cents with six loads traded. The weekly average price was $1.1345. Solid support remains uncertain but may develop as the holiday season approaches.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
December corn closed down 1.50 cents per bushel at $4.2725, January soybeans closed up 9.50 cents at $11.1700 and December soybean meal closed up $4.40 per ton at $317.10. December Chicago wheat closed down 7.75 cents at $5.2775. December live cattle closed up $2.58 at $221.35. December crude oil is up $0.38 per barrel at $59.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 75 points at 46,987, with the NASDAQ down 49 points at 23,005.
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