GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Butter had another positive day in the cash market, trading up 3.25 cents. Futures followed along as well, with some mixed news released from the Dairy Products Report this afternoon.
MILK:
Class III Milk ended up mixed by the afternoon, with conflicting directions from components. Class IV, however, ended up lower on the day. Nonfat Dry Milk traded 2.2 cents to 3.625 cents lower. Dry Whey also fell 0.35 to 1.35 cents lower. On the Dairy Products Report released this afternoon, ice cream was down slightly from production in 2025, Sherbet saw a 13.4% reduction since last year and frozen yogurt increased 1.5%. For dry milk products, skim milk powder was down 50.3% from last year and nonfat dry milk for human consumption was 26.6% higher. Whey products were mixed, with dry whey production up 17.3% and why protein concentrates down 2.2%.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.66 |
| 6 Month: | $16.90 |
| 9 Month: | $17.09 |
| 12 Month: | $17.25 |
CHEESE:
Cheese had some small gains in the futures market by the close, trading up 0.2 to 1.3 cents higher. On the Dairy Products Report, total cheese output was 1.26 billion pounds, which is 2.1% above last year and 2.3% above last month. Italian type cheese production totaled 551 million pounds, which was an increase of 5.5% above last month and 4.1% above July 2025. American type cheese production came in at 480 million pounds, 1.1% below July 2025 and 0.6% below June 2026.
BUTTER:
Butter production for July was at 189 million pounds. While that is 5.5% higher than last year, it was a major cut of 9% below last month. With the cash and futures market stronger over the last couple of days, these are mixed results going forward to close out the week. On one hand, production is higher than last year, as it should be with the availability of cream, however a drop of 9% from June is a notable change. The market assumes there is plenty of butter available, especially since the spot market has been saturated with offers, however buyers may see this drop in production and assume the bottom is in for nearby price structure.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
December corn closed down 2.75 cents per bushel at $5.4075, November soybeans closed up 6.00 cents at $13.1625 and December soybean meal closed up $5.90 per ton at $355.50. December Chicago wheat closed down 19.75 cents at $7.5425. October live cattle closed up $4.13 at $214.30. October crude oil is up .29 per barrel at $91.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 624 points at 53,686 and the NASDAQ is up 366 points at 26,584.
