July cheese disappearance topped that of a year ago, the third consecutive month to do so, according to HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess. He talks with Lee Mielke about it as well as butter and powder:

Dairy demand remains “extremely volatile,” according to Matt Gould, analyst and editor of the Dairy and Food Market Analyst newsletter:

The dairy markets faces a lot of uncertainty ahead and several opposing forces, according to StoneX dairy broker Dave Kurzawski. He talks with Lee Mielke about them:

A Lot of milk money was left on the table recently and dairy farmers saw very little of it. Hoard’s Dairyman managing editor Corey Geiger talks with Lee Mielke about how much:

June U.S. dairy product commercial disappearance was encouraging but some clouds have moved in, in the form of the Global Dairy Trade auction and the July Milk Production report. HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess talks with Lee Mielke about on today’s Dairy Radio:

The Agriculture Department announced the September Federal order Class I base milk price at $18.44 per hundredweight, down $1.34 from August, 59 cents above September 2019, and the highest September Class I since 2014. It equates to about $1.59 per gallon and pulls the 2020 Class I average to $16.65, up from $16.51 at this time a year ago and compares to $14.58 in 2018.
Courtesy: Mielke Market Weekly

The market volatility of the COVID pandemic forced many farmers to take a closer look at their financial statements, according to Hoard’s Dairyman managing editor Corey Geiger. He talks with Lee Mielke about it on Monday’s Dairy Radio:

While the June Class III milk price topped $20 per cwt., most dairy farmers won’t see their check that high because of quirks with the U.S. milk pricing system. The Daily Dairy Report’s Sarina Sharp explains on today’s Dairy Radio with Lee Mielke:

The Agriculture Department announced the July Federal order Class III benchmark milk price at $24.54 per hundredweight, up $3.50 from June, 6 cents shy of the all-time record $24.60 in September 2014, and $6.99 above July 2019. It put the 2020 average at $17.30, up from $15.58 a year ago and $14.37 in 2018

The July Class IV price is $13.76, up 86 cents from June but $3.14 below a year ago, and the lowest July Class IV price since 2015. Its average now sits at $13.78, down from $16.11 a year ago and compares to $13.73 in 2018. Posted by: Mielke Market Weekly

June dairy imports to China were “impressive,” according to HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess. He talks with Lee Mielke about them on today’s Dairy Radio:

Today we take a look at the most recent milk production and cold storage reports from USDA, with Matt Gould, analyst and editor of the Dairy and Food Market Analyst newsletter:

The Agriculture Department announced the August Federal order Class I base milk price at $19.78 per hundredweight, up $3.22 from July, $1.89 above August 2019, and the highest Class I since December 2014. It equates to $1.70 per gallon, up from $1.42 in July and $1.54 a year ago. The 2020 Class I average stands at $16.42, up from $16.34 at this time a year ago and $14.54 in 2018.  
Courtesy: Mielke Market Weekly

Nate Donnay, Director of Dairy Market Insight for StoneX Group, talks with Lee Mielke about USDA’s May dairy product commercial disappearance data:

Forget gold. Invest in cheese. One could almost say that this past week as the CME Cheddar blocks set another record high Friday, closing at $2.9150 per pound, up 24 cents on the week and $1.13 above that week a year ago. Lee Mielke asks HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess if the bubble will burst and how low will prices fall?

There was a lot of dairy news to sift through this last week, from a huge jump in the milk price to more government aid on the way. HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess sorts it out with Lee Mielke:

Last Wednesday’s Hoards Dairyman DairyLivestream program examined the current recovery in milk prices. Managing editor Corey Geiger talks about it with Lee Mielke on today’s Dairy Radio:

Dairy product commercial disappearance plummeted in April but things have since turned around. HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess chats with Lee Mielke about it on our Mielke Monday:

“We’re under a new paradigm of testing in this post-COVID world,” says FC Stone dairy broker, Dave Kurzawski, when asked if the higher milk prices will send the wrong signal to farmers. He talks with Lee Mielke about it:

Dairy processors are often at odds with dairy farmers but there are times they join together; as the two organizations that represent them worked to offset the effects of the COVID pandemic. That was the topic of last week’s Dairy Livestream from Hoards Dairyman. Managing editor Corey Geiger tells us more on today’s Dairy Radio:

Ironically, while cash block cheese set a new record high the first week of June Dairy Month, the Agriculture Department announced the May Federal order benchmark milk price Wednesday, which fell to its lowest level since September 2009.

The COVID-incited plunge in farm gate milk price hit bottom at $12.14 per hundredweight, down 93 cents from April and $4.24 below May 2019. That pulled the 2020 Class III average to $15.10, up from $15.05 at this time a year ago and $14.25 in 2018.

Class III futures settlements Wednesday portended a rebound in June to $19.83, with July at $18.68; August, $17.36; September, $17.02; October, $16.86; November, $16.66; and December at 16.42.

The May Class IV price is $10.67, down 73 cents from April, $5.62 below a year ago, and the lowest Class IV price since August 2009. The Class IV average stands at $13.96, down from $15.81 a year ago and compares to $13.42 in 2018.
Courtesy: Mielke Market Weekly

Dairy farmers had to dump milk on their farms in March and April due to the COVID pandemic. Matt Gould, analyst and editor of the Dairy and Food Market Analyst newsletter, ran the numbers and made some interesting observations about that milk. He shares what he learned with Lee Mielke:

Dairy producers remain optimistic and determined to get through the COVID-19 pandemic inspired downturn, according to Hoard’s Dairyman managing editor Corey Geiger, following last week’s Dairy Livestream discussion. He talks with Lee Mielke about it:

Dairy prices have seen some strength recently. HighGround Dairy’s Director of Dairy Market Intelligence, Lucas Fuess, talks about it with Lee Mielke. He also question’s the increase in U.S. milk output spelled out in last week’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate report:

U.S. dairy markets are recovering, though they have a long way to go, according to FC Stone dairy broker Dave Kurzawski. He talks with Lee Mielke about the three main elements that are driving this recovery.

Dairy farmers are being asked to reduce milk production by their cooperatives. Hoard’s Dairyman Managing Editor Corey Geiger talks with Lee Mielke about Hoard’s new Dairy LiveStream broadcast and what they learned from farmers who participated: