News

A week of differing directions for dairy

Cash cheese ended the week at the same price on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday, barrels lost 4 cents, blocks gained a penny to both close at $1.69. The November Class III contract was down the limit 75-cents for a while but then rebounded half-way to close 36 cents lower.

For the week, cash cheese barrels lost 9.5 cents, blocks fell 7.5 cents while butter gained 6.5 cents per pound. Class III futures the October contract slipped 11 cents, November dropped 85 cents and December fell 17 cents. Most prices are still higher for the month.

 

The cash cheese market has been going in all-different directions, Dairy Market News says some manufacturers in the Upper Midwest continue to have difficulty getting enough milk to fill orders but at the same time, there just doesn’t seem to be the usual aggressiveness by buyers as we near Thanksgiving and the holidays.

Milk production in the Southwest is steady with some being shipped to the Southeast; Florida imported 98 loads for the week.

The milk production season is off to a strong start in Oceania; reports are production in New Zealand is running 13 percent above year ago levels…although keep in mind production was quite poor a year ago. Australian production is running 1 to 4 percent above last year.

Milk production in western Europe is going strong with reports some countries may be over quota while production in eastern Europe continues to decline.

The July mailbox price for milk in the Federal Orders averaged $21.74 per hundredweight, up 86 cents from June and $5.92 above July of 2010. The highest July price was $24.50 in Florida while the lowest was $19.97 in New Mexico.