2024 has been filled with volatile milk prices, forcing dairy farmers to try to capture the highs and weather the lows. $15 Class III milk prices during the first few months of the year, to futures briefly reaching $24 in September, the swing in milk prices has been drastic this year, begging the question, “are the highs already in?”
“I think the highs are in,” said Robin Schmahl, dairy analyst with AgDairy, a division of John Stewart & Associates and AgMarket.net. “Unfortunately, we have the buyers of butter who feel comfortable. They feel comfortable with supplies.”
Supply Trends in Butter and Cheese: Understanding Buyers’ Caution
Schmahl points out August butter and cheese supplies give a hint into why buyers feel are content with supplies. The USDA dairy products report, which was released in early October, showed butter supplies hit 159 million pounds, which was 14.5 percent above August 2023, but 3.0 percent below July 2024. Total cheese output reached 1.20 billion pounds, 1.7 percent above August 2023 and 0.5 percent above July 2024.
By Tyne Morgan
October 25, 2024
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