Milk Prices Rally Higher
USDA released their monthly Milk Production Report on Monday with results printing a -0.5% production output compared to the previous year, the weakest performance since May 2022. The milking herd lost 3,000 head month-over-month, lower than the average guess. A revision to June's milking herd, down 8,000, left the overall herd at 9,400,000 cows. California's production lost 5.5% compared to last year, the largest decline since 2015. Other regions to note include the Southwest dropping 4.4%, Northeast gaining 1.8%, Midwest up 1.4%, and Mideast 3.8% stronger.
CME futures prices rallied following USDA's report. September closed 39 cents higher while October was up 22. November 2023 through June 2024 ranged from even to 14 cents higher. Class IV was also in the green as settlements were up 5-15 cents October through April. CME spot markets watched cheddar blocks and barrels were offered on Monday. Blocks fell 2 cents with settlement at $2.0075/lb. Barrels weakened a quarter cent to $1.805/lb. Butter added 4 cents to $2.74/lb with 12 trades exchanging hands. Whey lost a penny while nonfat dry milk was off a quarter cent.
Corn suffered a 10 cent decline with new crop closing at $4.825/bu. Soybeans traded 8 cents higher to $13.62/bu and meal was up $7/ton.
