Class III prices for the next three months average $22.99 per hundredweight, while Class IV prices average $14.07 per cwt. This dramatic difference between Class III and Class IV prices is resulting in negative Producer Price Differentials for dairy farms. Simply put, PPD is the relationship of Class III value relative to the value of…
Block cheese prices fell hard on July 15, after being at record high levels.They fell 19 cents to $2.80 per pound, while butter fell 5.25 cents and cheese barrels remained flat. The falling cheese price sent August and September Class III prices down 75 cents, with the last half of 2020 now averaging $19.57 per…
USDA announced the June Class III milk price at $21.04 per hundredweight, up $8.90 from May and $4.77 above year-ago levels. The Class IV milk price was announced at $12.90 per cwt., up $2.23 from last month but down $3.93 from a year ago. Class III milk futures prices average $17.83 per cwt. for the…
USDA’s Cold Storage report shows total cheese stocks down 1.6 percent month-over-month to 1.45 billion pounds at the end of May. That counters historical trends for inventories to grow from April to May. Total cheese stocks were up 5 percent from a year ago, despite the 24-million-pound drawdown from April, the largest on record for…
Total milk production in the US fell 1 percent year-over-year to 18 billion pounds in May. Production per cow dropped 32 pounds per cow, while cow numbers were down 50,000 head from a year ago and 12,000 head from April. California’s milk production was down 1.5 percent, while Wisconsin fell 3.1 percent. Both Idaho and…
The dairy price index on the latest Global Dairy Trade auction was up 1.9 percent to $2,979 per metric ton. Skim milk powder, whole milk powder and Cheddar cheese prices were all up, increasing 3.1, 2.2 and 1.4 percent, respectively. The butter price fell 1.0 percent. Total milk production in the European Union was flat…
Spot cheese prices are up dramatically over the past four weeks, with the Cheddar block price closing on June 9 at $2.58 per pound. That is up $1.28 from a month ago. The increase in cheese prices is driving up Class III milk futures prices, as well, with the June price closing at $20.56 per…
USDA’s Crop Progress report shows about 80 percent of Pennsylvania’s corn crop is in the ground, as of May 31. This is up from 1 percent from the five-year average and 8 percent ahead of last year. About 91 percent of the crop is in the good to excellent “crop condition” category. Nationally, 93 percent…
April milk production in the US was up 1.4 percent to 18.7 billion pounds, with 18 pounds more milk per cow and 49,000 more head. However, cow numbers did fall 4,000 head from March to April, after peaking at 9.385 million head. Milk production per cow also fell from March to April, on a daily…
After falling to 20-year lows in late April and early May, Class III and Class IV milk futures prices have been increasing on the CME, driven by increases in prices for butter and cheese. As of May 19, Class III prices for the next 12 months averaged $16.02 per cwt., up from an average of…
