GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Class III milk pulled back prices Thursday, nervous to play along with the other dairy products rallying with the Milk Production report to be released Friday. Butter futures climbed higher despite little activity in the cash trade.
MILK:
Class III milk had a day lower, trading 5 to 35 cents lower on most contracts other than a few later day trading in deferred contracts that had small gains. With the Milk Production report expected to show strong milk production Friday, it is difficult for Class III to have much to get excited over right now. Milk supply is plentiful and demand is steady. More government focus on whole milk in social media ads and the new food pyramid will help, but market shifts take time.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $14.98 |
| 6 Month: | $15.51 |
| 9 Month: | $16.10 |
| 12 Month: | $16.45 |
CHEESE:
Block cheese traded a penny lower earlier Thursday with no loads traded in blocks or barrels. Futures were a little harder on prices Thursday afternoon, trading 3 to 4.2 cents lower. Retail cheese demand is there; however, cheese products have a lot of availability. We will know more Friday with the Cold Storage report as the government releases inventory numbers.
BUTTER:
Butter futures climbed 1.4 cents to 3.9 cents higher Thursday afternoon. The cash market was unchanged with no loads traded. There seems to be a surge of demand this week, and more information will be available with the Cold Storage report Friday. If inventory levels are lower than expected, it could account for the strong prices this week. Last month we saw a 1% drop from the previous year and an 8% drop from the previous month.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
March corn closed up 2.25 cents per bushel at $4.2400, March soybeans closed down .50 cent at $10.6400 and March soybean meal closed up $4.80 per ton at $296.20. March Chicago wheat closed up 7.75 cents at $5.1550. April live cattle closed down $0.13 at $234.83. March crude oil is down 1.26 per barrel at $59.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 306 points at 49,384 and NASDAQ is up 211 points at 23,436.
