On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange milk futures closed mixed Thursday as cash cheese markets continue to slide. The block/barrel spread ended the day at a record-high $0.38. Nearby Class III milk responded with October falling 25 cents to $18.48, but forward months saw gains through all of 2020. November gained 4 cents to $18.12, December 16 cents to $17.47 and January – March of 2020 gained 8-15 cents to average at $16.65 per cwt. Class IV was quieter. September was unchanged at $16.33, October gained 3 cents to $16.29, and November gained 2 cents to $16.47 per cwt.
Dry whey unchanged at $0.3975. Blocks down $0.0725 at $2.0450. One trade was made at $2.0650. Barrels down $0.12 at $1.6650. Eights trades were ranging from $1.6650 to 1.69. Butter down $0.0075 at $2.1025. Three trades were made at $2.1025 to $2.1050. Nonfat dry milk up $0.0025 at $1.0775. Three trades were made at $1.0750 to $1.0775. The USDA says the dairy cow slaughter for August was 266,600 head, up 9,800 head on the month, but down 13,100 on the year. The year to date total is 2.161 million head, 73,000 ahead of the 2018 pace.
Grains and feed were quiet. December corn was 1 ¼ cents higher to $3.72 ¾, November soybeans gained 4 ½ to $8.93 even, and October soybean meal gained 60 cents to $292.20 per ton.
