Cheese and Class III futures were mixed, butter and nonfat dry milk lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday.
For the week, cash cheese barrels lost 9.5 cents, blocks fell 4 cents, butter is 3 cents lower and nonfat dry milk is down 1.5 cents. Class III futures September lost 61 cents, October fell 41 cents and February slipped 3 cents from a week ago.
Despite a 3-cent slip for the week, butter prices were pushed higher by concerns the tight cream supplies could result in tight butter supplies going into the holiday season. Although prices over $2 tend to slow demand. Dairy Market News describes the market as “unsettled.”
Cheese demand remains strong and cheese plants continue to run at-or-near capacity. Demand for Class I is increasing as schools reopen.
Total organic milk product sales in June were 199 million pounds, unchanged from June of 2014. This is the first time there has not been a year-over-year increase in June since 2011. January-through-June sales are actually 1.6 percent below year-ago levels. Whole organic milk sales were up for the month and year-to-date. The national weighted average advertised price for a half-gallon of organic milk was $3.87 last week compared to $1.96 for conventional half-gallons putting the organic-to-conventional spread at $1.91.
--Brownfield AgNews