OVERVIEW:
Cheese had a rough day, with blocks falling in the morning cash trade and futures trailing behind. The rest of the dairy markets felt heavy with Dry Whey futures rebounding later this afternoon.
MILK:
Class III futures are 8 to 33 cents lower this afternoon, while Class IV futures did not have any trades for the day. Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke to 750 farmers and dairy industry leaders at the National Milk Producers Federation's annual conference. She discussed the need for labor solutions in the dairy industry and steps it takes to change rules and laws to get it done. She spoke of the importance to pass the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and mentioned incentivizing dairy consumption by changing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans this winter. As a part of her four-point plan, she mentioned expanding markets and investing in milk processing, as well as addressing the need to lower input costs. While no details have been laid out, this sets the tone for hope that the government is noticing the struggles of the American dairy industry and will take action to improve the industry soon.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.81 |
| 6 Month: | $16.69 |
| 9 Month: | $16.82 |
| 12 Month: | $17.04 |
CHEESE:
Cheese blocks fell 8 cents in the cash market earlier today, while barrels fell 3 cents. Futures have luckily followed, but not to the degree we saw in the cash market, trading 3 cents lower this afternoon. Low prices usually bring more buyers to the table, but blocks have a lot of ground to make up after today's losses.
BUTTER:
Butter held steady this morning in the cash trade with a few loads traded and no change in price. Futures are 0.25 to 0.75 cents lower this afternoon. After last week's losses, butter is doing surprisingly well at holding its ground this week.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
December corn closed up 3.25 cents per bushel at $4.3525, January soybeans closed up 6.50 cents at $11.3375 and December soybean meal closed up $4.10 per ton at $321.00. December Chicago wheat closed steady at $5.3600 and December live cattle closed down $1.93 at $225.28. December crude oil is down 2.59 per barrel at $58.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 326 points at 48,254 and the NASDAQ is down 61 points at 23,406.
