Friday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Spot Prices Mixed

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	8.25 Lower
SOYBEANS:	17.75 Lower
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$6.00 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$0.65 Lower
DOW JONES:	586 Points Lower
NASDAQ:	220 Points Lower
CRUDE OIL:	$1.49 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

Block cheese was the only product seeing an increase, moving 3 cents to $2.3925 with two loads traded. Barrels were unchanged at $2.3700 with five loads traded. Butter slipped 2.25 cents to close at $2.6675 with four loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk fell 2.25 cents to $1.7550 with eight loads traded. Dry whey was down a half-cent, closing at $0.6350 with one load traded. Class III milk futures were 4 to 40 cents higher, not quite reaching $25. Class IV futures were 2 to 32 cents lower. Dry whey futures saw no movement, while butter futures were $1.35 to $2 lower. The Cold Storage report will be released this afternoon.

What to Know About U.S. Dairy on Earth Day

Earth Day is Friday, April 22, and the U.S. dairy industry always has reasons to celebrate the event. The National Milk Producers Federation says it’s an opportunity to refocus on its environmental and climate leadership within agriculture in the U.S. and around the world. Due to innovative farming and feed practices, a gallon of milk in 2017 required 30 percent less water, 21 percent less land, and a 19 percent smaller carbon footprint than in 2007. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says North America was the only region in the world to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions since 2005 even as it increased milk production. That means the greenhouse gas intensity for dairy products is the lowest in the world. Dairy farms help guard against food waste by taking byproducts from other industries, such as almond hulls and brewer’s grains, and using them as feed. U.S. dairy intends to be GHG-neutral by 2050.

Friday Morning Dairy Market Update - Cold Storage Report Out Today

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	Mixed
Class IV Milk Futures:	Mixed
Butter Futures:	Steady to 1 Lower

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	2 to 5 Higher
Soybean Futures:	6 to 9 Higher
Soybean Meal Futures:	$3 to $5 Lower
Wheat Futures:	2 to 5 Higher

MILK:

Class III futures made a significant rebound Thursday, following the strength of cheese prices. Cheese buyers took advantage of the dip of prices to further increase ownership of cheese for future demand. Class IV futures moved in the opposite direction, seeing significant losses as both butter and nonfat dry milk spot prices declined. Even though the outlook for milk supply has improved due to a substantial increase in cow numbers from February, buyers and sellers are doing business as they need to from day to day. Milk futures may see further upside moving into the weekend as demand remains strong from both bottling and manufacturing. Dairy cattle slaughter during the first quarter of the year totaled 825,000 head, down 2.3% from the same period last year. The governor of Oregon signed into law a bill requiring farmers to pay workers time and a half after 55 hours beginning in 2023 and incrementally dropping to 40 hours in 2027. This may create significant hardships for some as farmers adjust to the law. This may be something that could continue to be implemented in other states.

CHEESE:

Buyers may remain aggressive Friday as the rebound of prices could cause further buyer interest as they want to take advantage of the price dip. Cheese prices could remain sideways at best as supply and demand may be more balanced at the present time. International demand remains strong with U.S. dairy products competitive on the world market. USDA will release the March Cold Storage report. The area to watch will be whether American cheese inventory will increase from February.

BUTTER:

Price fell to the lowest level it has been since March 4 and poised to break below the bottom of the sideways trading range. Churning remains active with sufficient cream available even though ice cream production is increasing. Butter inventory is expected to increase from February on the report Friday.