Spot market dips, milk futures rise

CHICAGO, IL

Although the spot market prices dropped for dairy commodities traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday of this week, the Class III milk futures prices were in green ink territory in early afternoon trading for all months from July 2016 through December of 2017.

AA butter had the most noticeable price setback on Wednesday – 5.75 cents to close at $2.2825 per pound as the result of the sale of one carload during the morning trading session.

With four carload sales, to bring the holiday-shortened trading week total to nine carloads, Grade A non-fat dry milk slipped by .50 cent to close at 87 cents per pound on Wednesday.

Cheddar blocks and barrels

On the spot market for Cheddar cheese on Wednesday, barrels held at $1.67 per pound as a bid for one carload was not filled while blocks lost 1.5 cents to close at $1.58 per pound as two carloads were sold.

Cheddar blocks and barrels both hit their calendar year 2016 price high on Thursday, June 30. Prices reached $1.71 per pound for barrels and $1.66 for blocks but suffered a setback the next day.

Futures markets gain

Class III milk futures posted low double digit per hundred gains for 9 of the next 18 months in trading through early afternoon on Wednesday of this week

With the exception of $15.14 per hundred for July, $15.90 for August, and $15.99 for September, all of the monthly prices through June of 2018 stood in the $16s per hundred.

Those are approximate 20 to 25 percent increases on the Class III milk national base price for June of $13.22 per hundred. This is an increase of 46 cents from May but is $3.50 per hundred less than the Class III price for June of 2015.

Futures prices for dry whey on Wednesday ranged from a low of 27.6 cents per pound for July 2016 to between 31 and 37 cents per pound for all months from September 2016 through June of 2018.

Lowest in six years

The $14.70 per hundred weighted average all-milk price that dairy farmers in Wisconsin were paid for the milk they shipped in May was the lowest monthly price since March of 2010. It was down by 90 cents per hundred from April and $3.10 from the price for May of 2015.

Across the United States, the May all-milk price averaged $14.50 per hundred – down by 50 cents from April and by $2.30 from May of 2015. Texas and South Dakota joined Wisconsin for the greatest price drop (90 cents) from April to May.

Not one of the top 23 milk production states reported an increase in its April to May all-milk prices. May prices in other states included $12.92 per hundred in California and $14 in New Mexico.

Dairy export report

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has received requests from Dairy Farmers of America and the Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold) for financial support on the export of 352,740 pounds of 82 percent butter to countries in Asia and the Middle East on deliveries scheduled from July to October.