Whole Milk Powder Auction Prices Sit Near Four-Month Highs

Farm Journal logo

Whole milk auction prices have surged 58% since the start of the year.

Tracy Withers

Whole milk powder auction prices stayed near four-month highs, adding to signs that Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. can achieve its increased forecast payment to New Zealand farmers.

Powder for delivery across all contracts through March dropped 1.7 percent, according to a trade-weighted index posted on Fonterra’s GlobalDairyTrade website. The average winning price was $5,058 a metric ton, down from $5,124 at the last auction two weeks ago, which was a four-month high.

Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, last month twice raised its forecast payment to New Zealand farmers for the year through May 2014, citing the outlook for global prices. Whole milk auction prices have surged 58 percent since the start of the year.

The company has reduced the volume of product it will sell at the auction, underpinning prices, it said Aug. 23. It achieved record sales at two auctions in August, held in the weeks after it disclosed a contamination scare affecting a whey protein shipped to China and used in the manufacture of baby formula.

New Zealand officials said Aug. 28 that their testing showed the contamination didn’t pose food safety risks. Fonterra directors are visiting China this week to rebuild trust among customers, Chairman John Wilson said last week.

Fonterra, which accounts for about a third of the global trade in dairy products, sells whole, skim and butter-milk powder, dried-milk fat, lactose, butter, cheese and casein at its GlobalDairyTrade auctions. Casein is a protein found in milk. Prices across all products fell 1.1 percent.

 

Latest News

February Milk Production Report Shows Lackluster Numbers
February Milk Production Report Shows Lackluster Numbers

Comparing a leap year versus a non-leap year in 2023, February milk production was up 2.4%. However, on a per-day basis, production was down 1.1%. Milk cows totaled 9.3 million head, down 89,000 compared to a year ago.

APHIS Now Thinks Wild Birds Are to Blame for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza's Arrival on Four U.S. Dairies
APHIS Now Thinks Wild Birds Are to Blame for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza's Arrival on Four U.S. Dairies

The livestock industry continues to grapple with the first confirmed cases of HPAI in cattle, while federal and state agencies continue to assure consumers there's no concern about the safety of the U.S. milk supply.

Success is All in the Details at Kansas Dairy Development
Success is All in the Details at Kansas Dairy Development

Kansas Dairy Development provides temporary housing for up to 80,000 head of cattle — from a few days old to springers nearly ready to calve. Their formula for success is all in the details.

Skills Survey Reveals U.S. Agriculture & Food Industry Workforce Needs and Gaps
Skills Survey Reveals U.S. Agriculture & Food Industry Workforce Needs and Gaps

U.S. employers report challenges in finding suitable job candidates with work-ready skills to fill open roles in ag. The AgCareers.com U.S. Skills Survey offers insights, data and trends to address skill development.

Built Out of Love: How Two Sisters Created a Super-Fast-Growing Yogurt Company
Built Out of Love: How Two Sisters Created a Super-Fast-Growing Yogurt Company

Travel to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, and you’ll meet Hayley and Stephanie Painter who not only made the Forbes 30 under 30 list, but have also created one of the fastest growing yogurt company in the U.S.

"Boring" Technology Will Reshape Dairy Over the Next 10 Years
"Boring" Technology Will Reshape Dairy Over the Next 10 Years

Once a technology becomes a boring experience it means it has become proven, well-adopted, and easy to utilize. There are three "boring" technologies silently shaping the industry.