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Another record-high butter price

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange cash butter price increased three-quarter cent on Wednesday to close at $3.01 per pound.  Dairy Market News reports butter manufacturers are producing at a steady to higher rate but demand remains strong despite the high prices.  Domestic bulk butter prices are ranging up to 7 cents above market.  Butter is being imported from Australia and New Zealand.  The USDA Foreign Ag Service says January-through-July butter imports totaled 10 million pounds up 65 percent compared to a year ago.

Cream cheese makers are willing to pay a premium for cream so once again, some butter makers are finding it more profitable to sell the cream rather than make the butter.  They are a little cautious about building stocks with butter at these prices.

Cash cheese barrels gained 1.75 cents and blocks added 1.5 cents per pound on Wednesday.  Class III futures responding with October up 51 cents to $24.70, November of the 75-cent daily limit to $22.23 and December jumped 71 cents to $20.77.  The January contract went over $19 and February passed $18.

The Base Class I Price for October milk is $24.19 per hundredweight up 56 cents from the previous month.  The Base Skim Milk Price for Class I for October is $13.67 per hundredweight down 89 cents from the previous month.

National Dairy Products Sales Report for the week ending September 13^th: cheddar cheese blocks averaged $2.29 per pound up 6.7 cents from the previous week.  Barrels increased 3.4 cents to average $2.35, butter increased 2.9 cents to $2.78, nonfat dry milk decreased 1.7 cents to average $1.47 and dry whey slipped 1.3 cents to average 66.9 cents per pound.

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 12 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold), Michigan Milk Producers Association and Tillamook County Creamery Association to sell 692,252 pounds of Cheddar and Gouda cheese and 1.422 million pounds of whole milk powder to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The product will be delivered September 2014 through March 2015.

Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in selling 86.203 million pounds of cheese, 48.188 million pounds of butter and 33.171 million pounds of whole milk powder to 43 countries on six continents.