from
THE LAND
23 A THE LAND, OCTOBER 14, 2011
Milker's Message
OCTOBER 14, 2011
Crystal balls are cloudy; uncertainty is certain
<< MILKER’S MESSAGE >> “Where Farm and Family Meet”
“back-to-school sales, which This column was written typically reflect holiday for the marketing week endsales, were not good.” ing Oct. 7. ■ The slippage in dairy product prices took a Cash butter inched a quarbreather the first week of ter-cent lower Wednesday, October and rallied some, after holding steady for six but crystal balls are pretty sessions, then gained a penny cloudy — or should I say and a quarter on Thursday, “milky” — right now. MIELKE MARKET and closed Friday at $1.77, WEEKLY up a penny and a half on the The 40-pound Cheddar week, but 41.5 cents below a blocks closed Oct. 7 at By Lee Mielke year ago and reversed five $1.7650 per pound, up 4.5 weeks of decline. Only one car was sold cents on the week, but a half cent this week. NASS butter averaged below that week a year ago and was the first move up in 10 weeks. The 500- $1.8084, down 8.3 cents. pound barrels closed at $1.7850, up Holiday buying for Thanksgiving and 14.5 cents, a nickel above a year ago Christmas may be providing the lift but and 2 cents above the blocks. butter export potential is “somewhere Thirteen cars of block and 17 of bar- between zero and nothing,” Dryer said. rel found new homes on the week. The “Lower prices on offer in the world market, many still not being reported, prelagging National Agricultural Statisclude the United States from selling tics Service-surveyed U.S. average much and, in fact, butter imports are on block price fell 4.2 cents, to $1.7589, the horizon.” He adds the caveat that while the barrels also lost 4.2 cents, one source says “All is not lost, there and slipped to $1.7276. will be some meaningful butter exports Cheese prices could dip to $1.50, warned Jerry Dryer in his Sept. 30 Dairy before year-end and into first quarter & Food Market Analyst, however “others 2012,” but most other sources disagree. Cash nonfat dry milk was unchanged say the order flow is gaining momentum with Grade A holding at $1.49 and and buyers and end-users are comfortExtra Grade at $1.58. NASS powder able owning cheese at $1.65.” F.C. Stone dairy broker Dave Kurza- averaged $1.5164, down 2.5 cents. Dry wski in his Oct. 6 eDairy Insider Open- whey averaged 60.55 cents, up a half ing Bell attributed the gains in cheese cent. The whey market remains strong. ■ prices this week to the beginning of holiday buying, reporting that the U.S. Looking “back to the futures,” comDepartment of Agriculture’s weekly bined with the announced Class III stocks report showed a 0.8 percent prices, the federal order Class III condecline, compared with the previous tract’s average for the last half of 2011 week, but are 3.8 percent above a year was at $19.63 on Sept. 2; $19.36 on MN TRUCK & TRACTOR ago. Sept. 9; $19.49 on Sept. 16; $19.21 on Mankato, MN • 507-388-4599 Sept. 23; $18.72 on Sept. 29; and was Bill Brooks, eDairy economist, said, close to $19.07 just before the spot “with consumers and businesses still LAKE HENRY IMPLEMENT NORTHLAND FARM SYSTEMS market traded on Oct. 7. fretting about recent economic weakLake Henry, MN • 370-243-7411 Owatonna, MN • 507-451-3131 ness and Europe’s debt problem, holiFonterra’s Global Dairy Trade aucday demand might not be as buoyant SE SKID LOADER LODERMEIER’S as originally anticipated,” adding that See MIELKE, pg. 24A St. Charles, MN • 507-932-4560 Goodhue, MN • 651-923-4441