GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Milk futures closed mostly higher, with only the March contracts posting losses. Class III futures posted slight gains for the week, while Class IV contracts posted significant gains.
MILK:
Despite some of the volatility in the spot market, milk futures had a good week. Class III contracts were steady to slightly higher, while Class IV contracts were strong. The April Class IV contract moved to $20.00, where it has not been since May 27, 2025. A move above that level would put in at a new contract high. The strength over the past few weeks has been remarkable. Seasonally, prices do not see this strength during this time of year. However, considering the price moved substantially lower during the fourth quarter of 2025, this may be the market correcting an exceptionally oversold market. The January Agricultural Prices report was released, showing average prices for the month. The average corn price was $4.10 per bushel, the same price as December, but $0.19 below a year ago. The premium/supreme hay price was $226.00 per ton compared to $211.00 per ton in December and $242.00 per ton a year ago. The All-milk price was $17.50, down $1.50 per cwt from December and down $6.60 from January 2025. The average soybean meal price will not be released until Monday, providing the final price to calculate income over feed for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. Other prices of interest are the soybean price for January, which was $10.30 per bushel compared to $10.40 in December and $10.00 a year ago. The alfalfa hay price was $160 per ton, down $1.00 per ton from December and down $1.00 per ton from a year ago.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.18 |
| 6 Month: | $17.09 |
| 9 Month: | $17.48 |
| 12 Month: | $17.53 |
CHEESE:
For the week, blocks increased 2.25 cents with 18 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5460. Barrels increased 7.00 cents with no loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5320. Dry whey decreased 4.75 cents with three loads traded. The weekly average price is 64.00 cents.
BUTTER:
For the week, butter decreased 3.00 cents with 68 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.8320. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 2.50 cents with eight loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.6775.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
May corn closed up 5.00 cents per bushel at $4.4850, May soybeans closed up 7.25 cents at $11.7075 and May soybean meal closed down $.40 per ton at $320.50. May Chicago wheat closed up 17.00 cents at $5.9150. April live cattle closed down $4.68 at $232.23. April crude oil is up $2.08 per barrel at $67.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 521 points at 48,878, with the NASDAQ down 210 points at 22,668.
