Milk Prices
Butter continues its struggle, hits a new low.
Farmers across the country are being asked to dump their milk, as food service demand crumbled rapidly due to COVID-19. Still, farmers are frustrated that consumers can’t buy as much milk as they want right now.
Class III futures traded quietly for the second day in a row.
Class IV traded 30-35 cents lower in the second quarter of 2021.
Both cold storage and milk production were released Monday.
The dairy market failed to get cheese to follow through on last week’s gains and gave back some of the late-week rally.
Last year was the most volatile year on record when it comes to milk prices.
A move lower in cheese on Friday was ignored by the Class III milk markets.
Volatility continues to dominate the markets in both the dairy and grain complex.
Tuesday’s trading session proved to be a tough day for unhedged dairy producers.
Class III futures ended the day mixed after showing initial strength mid-morning.
This week, USDA released the Dairy Products report for November.
Cheese values continued their ascent higher on Thursday following Monday’s announcement of the extension to a fifth round of the food box program.
While understanding your cost of production is an important metric, it’s also a valuable tool to help you make decisions on a day-to-day basis in order to make your farm more profitable.
$1.5 billion is earmarked for another round that will provide nonprofits with food boxes that will contain 5-6 pounds of Cheese, yogurt, butter, cream cheese, or sour cream.
Class III milk futures traded higher only to change directions as we moved through the spot cheese trade.
There are several key takeaways for dairy in the latest COVID-19 aid bill just signed by President Trump.
COVID-19 and government programs have been two main catalysts for volatility in 2020. However, 2021 is expected to have many challenges that may keep volatility high.
The Grinch returned to the cheese markets Thursday as Markets closed early for the Christmas Holiday.
Class III milk turned in another interesting trade on Wednesday as futures markets traded as high as the limit of $1.50/cwt before decreasing and settling near 75-80 cents stronger in January and February.
Government intervention creates a level of uncertainty that makes a 2021 milk price forecast nearly impossible.
“In my heart, it honestly feels like they were trying to bully or scare people into just paying it.”
Today’s green on the CME started with stimulus talk and was fed by another positive move in the Global Dairy Trade Event.
Futures once again sold off late in the session after showing initial strength. December gained 1 penny to $15.80.
A stronger open across the forward curve was seen early and peaked after the CME spot dairy auction at limit up in Q1 2021.
First half 2021 ended the session with an average north of $17 while second half prices are now pushing $17.40/cwt.
Green lit up the commodity markets on Wednesday.
Products across the board were neutral to modestly higher Tuesday in the CME Cash Dairy Product Trade.