Sarina Sharp
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The U.S. butter market took off like a rocket. It soared 30ȼ this week and closed at $3.30 per pound, just shy of the all-time high...
top of page
Enter your email below to subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
Enter your email below to subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
Market News
Sarina Sharp
- Sep 22
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Three-dollar butter is back. CME spot butter soared an astounding 28.25ȼ this week and closed right at the $3 mark. Exports are out of...
Sarina Sharp
- Sep 15
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The Class III markets took a big step back this week. Cooler weather has boosted yields, providing a little more milk for cheese vats.
Sarina Sharp
- Sep 8
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Higher temperatures fired up the dairy markets over the past few weeks, but now the mercury has fallen and so have cheese prices.
Sarina Sharp
- Sep 1
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Cows in the Midwest got a brief break from the heat, but the mercury is going to climb once again over the holiday weekend.
Sarina Sharp
- Aug 25
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
U.S. milk output turned negative in July, as the heat took a terrible toll on milk yields. Milk output totaled 19.08 billion pounds last...
Sarina Sharp
- Aug 18
- 3 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Milk powder prices plummeted at Tuesday’s Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction. Whole milk powder (WMP) plunged 10.9% to a seven-year low.
Monica Ganley
- Aug 11
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
A strange calm pervaded the dairy markets this week. Juxtaposed with the recent fireworks, the spot markets may have seemed downright...
Sarina Sharp
- Aug 4
- 5 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Dairy producers are getting pummeled, and the bruises are starting to show. In California and the Southwest, where feed costs are...
Sarina Sharp
- Jul 28
- 3 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy markets are still feeling that summer sizzle. Cheese and butter prices both jumped once again this week. CME spot Cheddar...
Sarina Sharp
- Jul 21
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Like the mercury in Phoenix, the dairy markets just kept climbing this week. The heat wave began in the most unlikely of places.
Sarina Sharp
- Jul 14
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy markets bounced off the bottom this week, hinting that prices may have finally fallen far enough to stimulate demand.
Monica Ganley
- Jul 7
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
There were plenty of fireworks in the dairy markets during the holiday shortened week. Dairy commodity prices continue to flounder under...
Monica Ganley
- Jun 30
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The Class III complex came under significant pressure this week as the realities of current market conditions set in. In particular...
Sarina Sharp
- Jun 23
- 5 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Milk gushed in the Midwest in May. Compared to the year before, output grew 6.2% in South Dakota, 2.6% in Iowa, 2.5% in Minnesota...
Sarina Sharp
- Jun 16
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The long-awaited rains have disappointed so far. A weekend drizzle and sporadic showers over the past few days have not added up to...
Sarina Sharp
- Jun 9
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Dairy producers are bracing themselves for a very small May milk check. The futures promise meager revenues for June and July as well.
Sarina Sharp
- Jun 2
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
There is simply too much cheese. USDA’s Dairy Market News reports that cheese production schedules are “steady to stronger” and, for...
Sarina Sharp
- May 26
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The Class III markets have tumbled for nearly six months. But there are signs that they have finally reached the valley floor. CME spot...
Sarina Sharp
- May 19
- 3 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy markets dropped again, and whey led the way lower. CME spot whey powder fell 3.75ȼ to 26.5ȼ per pound. Spot whey has traded...
Sarina Sharp
- May 12
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The bears prowled LaSalle Street this week, and the bulls were nowhere to be found. Spot dairy product values slumped, and milk futures...
Sarina Sharp
- May 5
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
After a long decline, the global milk powder market is tentatively on the mend. Both skim milk powder (SMP) and whole milk powder...
Sarina Sharp
- Apr 28
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The feed markets tumbled once again this week. July corn futures notched their lowest price in nearly a year and closed today at $5.85...
Sarina Sharp
- Apr 21
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Milk prices are woefully inadequate to cover today’s stubbornly high feed costs. With poor margins and rising beef values, dairy...
Sarina Sharp
- Apr 14
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy industry laments the loss of 18,000 cows at a dairy in the Texas panhandle, where an equipment fire spread quickly through...
Monica Ganley
- Apr 7
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
While the Easter bunny was finalizing preparations for the weekend, the bears were out in force in the dairy markets. Over the holiday...
Monica Ganley
- Mar 31
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
For the last few weeks, the Cheddar markets have seemingly defied the odds. Despite plentiful milk supplies and only lukewarm demand...
Monica Ganley
- Mar 24
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Despite significant challenges, milk production continues to grow in the United States. USDA published its monthly Milk Production...
Monica Ganley
- Mar 17
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The official start of spring is right around the corner and milk volumes are responding accordingly. Output is steady to higher in most...
Sarina Sharp
- Mar 10
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The spring flush is just getting started, but the nation is already drowning in milk. Dairy processors in the Central region were able...
Sarina Sharp
- Mar 3
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy markets are reeling after a bruising week on LaSalle Street. March Class III milk eked out a 3ȼ gain, and November and...
Sarina Sharp
- Feb 24
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Rested up after a long weekend, the cheese markets came charging out of the gates. CME spot Cheddar blocks leapt 8ȼ on Tuesday.
Monica Ganley
- Feb 17
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Activity at the spot market in Chicago was mixed this week as prices moved modestly up and down, testing new boundaries.
Sarina Sharp
- Feb 10
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Milk is abundant and trading at steep discounts in the cheese states. For the seventh straight week, cheesemakers in the Upper...
Sarina Sharp
- Feb 3
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy markets have digested a lot of bad news over the past few months. A renewed focus on economic and demographic slowdown in...
Sarina Sharp
- Jan 27
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
U.S. milk output was not as strong as anticipated in December. Clocking in at 18.9 billion pounds, it was just 0.8% higher than...
Monica Ganley
- Jan 20
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The bears were out in force this week, pressuring the dairy markets to new lows as supplies accumulated and global demand prospects dimmed.
Sarina Sharp
- Jan 13
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The cheese markets came charging out of the gates on Monday. CME spot Cheddar blocks leapt 14.25ȼ, and barrels added a dime. The strong...
Sarina Sharp
- Jan 7
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The holiday hangover hit hard this year. The cheese markets got off to a particularly rough start, with big losses both Tuesday...
Sarina Sharp
- Dec 30, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
In a year full of drama, the butter market was a sensation all its own. It began the year at a relatively lofty height, suffered a...
Sarina Sharp
- Dec 16, 2022
- 3 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Like a sack of gifts down a chimney flue, the cheese markets landed with a thud. CME spot Cheddar blocks dropped 11.75ȼ to $1.9775 per...
Sarina Sharp
- Dec 10, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The dairy markets are in transition. The factors that propelled milk prices above $25 per cwt. this summer – a sustained global milk...
Sarina Sharp
- Dec 2, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
As befits the season, the dairy markets had a lot to digest over the past two weeks. They headed into the Thanksgiving weekend with a...
Sarina Sharp
- Nov 18, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
After sprinting straight uphill last week, the dairy markets paused to catch their breath and, in some cases, to retreat to less...
Sarina Sharp
- Nov 11, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The bulls are back in town. Class III milk futures leapt to their highest values in a month or more, and Class IV contracts staged...
Sarina Sharp
- Nov 4, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Sky-high prices scared away buyers, and the CME spot butter market plummeted on Halloween, dropping below $3 per pound for the first...
Sarina Sharp
- Oct 28, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Global milk output has been in decline for a full year, muffling anxieties about the impact of sky-high dairy prices and a strong...
Monica Ganley
- Oct 21, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
U.S. dairy producers forged ahead in September, posting increases in milk production for the third consecutive month. Totaling...
Monica Ganley
- Oct 14, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
Another sizzling inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that U.S. consumers are feeling pinched from all sides...
Sarina Sharp
- Oct 7, 2022
- 4 min
Milk, Dairy and Grain Market Commentary
The butter market has outdone itself once again. On Wednesday it climbed to $3.24 per pound, matching the all-time high set in September.
bottom of page