GENERAL OVERVIEW:
After a rough start to the week, butter made a small comeback in the cash trade today with even more of a bounce this afternoon in the futures market.
MILK:
Milk had a disappointing day with Class III trading 18 cents lower for October and November as well as Class IV futures falling 24 to 31 cents by the end of the trading session. Grade A nonfat milk was 2 cents lower in the cash market and futures were trading closer to 3 to 4.2 cents lower. USDA released the DMC prices yesterday with the highest feed costs of the year for the July data. August feed costs are expected to be much higher with the large rally in prices we've seen over the last couple of weeks. What that means for cow retention and milk production is still to be determined as we inch closer to winter.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.60 |
| 6 Month: | $17.86 |
| 9 Month: | $17.07 |
| 12 Month: | $17.24 |
CHEESE:
Cheese is trending about 3 cents lower on average this week versus last week. The cash market was unchanged which is impressive given the 33 loads that traded in the Cheddar Block category. Futures had more weakness this afternoon, trading 0.8 to 1.7 cents lower. Tomorrow we will have the Dairy Products report released by USDA to give a better look at production data.
BUTTER:
Butter traded 1.5 cents higher during the cash auction this morning. There are still a large amount of offers left unfulfilled at the close each day, however, today there were also 16 bids left standing. Butter is a deal right now and the market has plenty to offer. Buyers have done well the last few years by taking advantage of late summer pricing to fill orders for the holiday season.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
October live cattle closed down $1.90 at $210.18. October crude oil is up .79 per barrel at $91.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 295 points at 53,061 and NASDAQ is up 118 points at 26,217.
