Market News

Milk futures mostly higher, cash dairy mixed

Class III milk futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were mostly steady to higher on follow through buying. October was unchanged at $16.80, November was $.03 higher at $16.34, December was up $.15 at $16.07, and January was $.13 higher at $15.67.

Cash cheese blocks were unchanged at $1.72 per pound. Six loads were sold, all at $1.72. The last unfilled bid was for one load, also at $1.72. The last uncovered offer was for one load at $1.73. Barrels were $.005 lower at $1.68. Five loads were sold, three at $1.68 and two at $1.6775.

Butter was down $.005 at $2.395. Three loads were sold, including one at $2.395. The last unfilled bid was on one load, also at $2.395. The last uncovered offer was for one load at $2.4075.

Nonfat dry milk was $.0225 higher at $.7675. Two loads were sold, both at $.76. The last unfilled bid was on one load at $.7675. The last uncovered offer was for two loads at $.77.

For November, the USDA has set the base Class I milk price at $16.41 per hundredweight, down $.03 from October, with the base Class I skim price at $7.28, up $.61.

The USDA reports cash butter for the week ending October 14th averaged $2.35 per pounds, $.063 lower than the previous week. 40 pound blocks of cheddar were pegged at $1.69, $.017 higher. 500 pound barrels averaged $1.71, an increase of $.071. Dry whey came out at $.369, down $.036. Nonfat dry milk averaged $.828, up $.001.

According to HighGround Dairy, milk production in the United Kingdom for the week ending October 7th was up 3.3% on the year, while production in France for the week ending October 8th was 3.3% higher and German production for the week ending October 15th also increased 3.3%. In August 2017, for the 26 reporting European Union members, production was up 3.0% from August 2016.