In Class III trade at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, milk futures were mostly lower on profit taking and spread trade. November was down $.01 at $16.69, December was up $.04 at $16.48, January was $.04 lower at $15.95, and February was down $.07 at $15.93.
Cash cheese blocks were unchanged at $1.885. Barrels were down $.0325 at $1.67. There were a total of thirteen loads sold, one at $1.67 and nine at $1.7025.
Butter was up $.05 at $2.03. There was one load sold at $2.03, along with one each at $2.00 and $2.0025. The last unfilled bid was on one load at $2.01. The last uncovered offer was for one load at $2.03.
Nonfat dry milk was $.005 higher at $.8975. There was one load sold at $.895. The last unfilled bid was on two loads at $.8975. The last uncovered offer was for one load at $.90.
The USDA reports cash butter for the week ending November 12th averaged $1.89 per pound, down $.022 on the week. 40 pound blocks of cheddar were pegged at $1.73, $.095 higher. 500 pound barrels of cheddar averaged $1.69, up $.089. Dry whey came out at $.367, one cent higher. Nonfat dry milk averaged $.909, down $.002.
California’s Department of Food and Agriculture says nonfat dry milk for the week ending November 11th averaged $.908 per pound, pretty much unchanged on the week. Sales of 9.3 million pounds were down 1.7 million.
According to HighGround Dairy, milk production in New Zealand last season was down 1.5%, despite the lowest prices in 20 seasons and reduced herd numbers. Industry group DairyNZ, via HighGround, cited changes to ownership structures, along changes to breeding and herd improvement.
Source: Brownfield Ag News
