Wednesday Closing Dairy Market Update - July Class III Price is $15.52

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Class III futures took a beating due to the weakness of the block cheese price. Clearly, this market has limited upside potential at the present time. The July Federal Order prices declined in all classes. The Global Dairy Trade auction trade-weighted average increased 0.1 percent.

MILK:

Class III futures fell, resuming the previous weakness. The August and September contracts have fallen below $17.00 again, renewing the bearishness. Buyers remain unaggressive except when loads are needed to fill immediate demand. Class IV futures found further support from the recent strength in nonfat dry milk. The July Federal Order class prices were released. The Class II price is $21.89 per cwt, down $0.89 from June, but up $2.58 from July 2025. The Class III price is $15.52, down $0.46 from June and down $1.80 from July 2025. The Class IV price is $18.34, down $2.62 from June and down $0.55 from July 2025. The Global Dairy Trade auction trade-weighted average increased 0.1 percent from the previous event. Anhydrous milk fat declined 0.8% to $6,367 per metric ton or $2.89 per pound. Butter declined 2.3% to $5,225 per metric ton or $2.42 per pound. Buttermilk powder declined 2.8% to $3,966 per metric ton or $1.80 per pound. Cheddar cheese gained 3.8% to $3,723 per metric ton or $1.69 per pound. Lactose increased 4.1% to $1,780 per metric ton or $0.81 per pound. Mozzarella cheese increased 1.0% to $3,992 per metric ton or $1.81 per pound. Skim milk powder increased 1.2% to $3,261 per metric ton or $1.48 per pound. Whole milk powder gained 0.2% to $3,483 per metric ton or $1.08 per pound.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$16.97
6 Month:	$17.21
9 Month:	$17.29
12 Month:	$17.39

CHEESE:

Milk production is rebounding from the recent heat wave, increasing milk receipts at the plant level. This will be welcomed as bottlers will be requiring more milk for school accounts over the next few weeks. Class III spot milk prices remain strong, ranging from $1.00 under to $5.00 over class. Cheese sales are reported to be good.

BUTTER:

Butter continues to struggle as there continues to be substantial interest in selling loads on the spot market. Forty uncovered offers remained at the close of spot trading. The positive aspect is that the sellers have not been very aggressive recently.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

December corn closed down 5.50 cents per bushel at $4.6000, November soybeans closed down 3.00 cents at $11.7475, and December soybean meal closed down $2.80 per ton at $315.60. September Chicago wheat closed up 3.75 cents at $6.4225. October live cattle closed up $1.58 at $229.48. September crude oil is down $0.72 per barrel at $75.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 263 points at 54,349, with the NASDAQ down 222 points at 26,363.

Wednesday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Block Cheese Moves Lower

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	4 Lower
SOYBEANS:	4 Lower
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$2.20 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$2.27 Higher
DOW JONES:	444 Points Higher
NASDAQ:	129 Points Lower
CRUDE OIL:	$1.17 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price declined 4.00 cents to close at $1.52 with four loads traded. This is the lowest price since July 8th. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged at $1.5475 with no loads traded. The dry whey price slipped 0.25 cents to close at 68.75 cents with no loads traded. Class III futures are 35 cents lower to 1 cent higher. The butter price slipped 0.25 cent to close at $1.4825 with one load traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 3.00 cents to close at $1.60 with five loads traded. This is the highest price since July 1. Class IV futures are 7 -- 17 cents higher. Butter futures are 2.77 cent lower to 1.50 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 0.05 cent lower to 0.10 cent higher. Cheese futures are steady to 3.40 cents lower. Nonfat dry milk futures are 0.52 -- 2.27 cents higher.

Wednesday Morning Dairy Market Update - Mixed Activity Ahead of Spot Trading

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	Mixed
Class IV Milk Futures:	2 to 6 Higher
Butter Futures:	1 to 2 Higher

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

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

MILK:

Traders did not receive any indication as to further direction for the market on Tuesday. Steady spot prices for cheese and butter may either indicate support or resistance. The current level of milk production is sufficient for demand. Sufficient supplies may limit the upside potential for prices. More milk moving to bottling over the coming weeks is not expected to tighten the supply and raise prices. Consumer demand will need to improve to keep up with increased milk production when cooler weather arrives. Traders continue to trade only for the short term rather than establish long-term positions. The June Federal Order class prices will be announced Wednesday afternoon. The trade anticipates a Class III price of $15.63 and a Class IV price of $18.49.

CHEESE:

Cheese prices seem supported but may have limited near-term upside potential. Buyers seem to have sufficient supplies on hand and remain comfortable purchasing on an as-needed basis. Price declines allow them to purchase more for building inventory. Demand will improve as the year progresses, but whether it will follow the usual increase is uncertain.

BUTTER:

It would seem that the butter price would find support at the current level as churns are operating on five-day weeks. Cream supplies have tightened with the production of Class III products utilizing a significant volume of cream.