Mielke Market Weekly

This column was written for the mar- Cheese output is steady to lower as keting week ending Jan. 7. delays to those supplies and ongoing The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the December Federal order staffing shortages are preventing plants from running full schedules. Class III milk price at $18.36 per hun- After gaining 36 cents the previous two dredweight. This is up 33 cents from weeks, CME butter soared to the highest November, $2.64 above December 2020, price it has seen since Dec. 9, 2015, closand the highest Class III since May. The ing Jan. 7 at $2.7425 per pound, up 29 December price put the year’s average at cents on the week and $1.3625 above a $17.08, down from $18.16 in 2020, and compares to $16.96 in 2019. Jan. 7’s late MIELKE MARKET WEEKLY year ago. Twenty-six cars sold on the week. The highest CME price ever was morning Class III futures portended a By Lee Mielke $3.135 per pound set on Sept. 25, 2015. January price at $20.29; February, $21.61, and March at $21.18 per cwt. The December Class IV price is MARKETING Butter churners tell Dairy Market News that cream availability has slimmed down and quickly. $19.88, which is up $1.09 from Multiples have climbed roughly 10 November, $6.52 above a year ago, and the highest points week to week in some cases, and haulers are Class IV price since October 2014. The 2021 Class tight as well. Butter churning is expected to slow if IV average is $16.09, up from $13.49 in 2020, and this trend continues, which is likely while cream compares to $16.30 in 2019. cheese producers and other cream end users play Meanwhile, cash cheese and butter started 2022 skyrocketing and saw some expanded trading limits, but then reversed gears as traders absorbed the catchup and siphon cream from the pool. Bulk butter is very tight, says Dairy Market News, and domestic butterfat values are increasing rapidly. November Dairy Products report. Cream has become more available in the West in After jumping 10.75 cents the previous week, the cheddar blocks marched to $2.0650 per pound on Jan. 5 (the highest since Nov. 12, 2020), but the next day dropped 5.5 cents and closed Jan. 7 at $1.995. This is up 1.5 cents on the week and 7.75 cents above a year ago when they jumped 26.75 cents to $1.9175. recent weeks however some processors are having difficulty getting it due to severe weather and a shortage of truck drivers. Demand for cream is increasing in the region. Butter demand is unchanged in retail and food service and international demand remains steady, despite port congestion delays. Spot availability is limited; unsalted butter is more difficult to obtain than salted.

The barrels climbed to $1.8725 Jan. 5 (the highest Contacts cite strong demand and tight inventories since Nov. 12, 2020), but finished the first Friday of for the higher prices. Butter output is steady, though 2022 at $1.865, 15.5 cents higher on the week and some butter makers say that delayed deliveries of 21.25 cents above a year ago. They also narrowed production supplies are limiting their production.the spread to 13 cents. Sales for the week totaled five cars of block and four of barrel at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Grade A nonfat dry milk closed Jan. 7 at $1.71 per pound, up 5.50 cents on the week and 52 cents above a year ago, with 21 sales reported.Dairy Market News says cheese demand requests have already met contacts’ recent expectations, as customers return to the fold. Midwestern cheesemakers say orders are strengthening but production rates vary from plant to plant as employee numbers CME dry whey closed Jan. 7 at 75.75 cents per pound, another new record high, up three-quarter of a cent on the week and 25.75 cents above a year ago, on one sale. range from adequate to short. Spot milk was still n priced at holiday level accessibility, and similar to previous week discounts, although a number of contacts expect those discounts to dissipate after this week. Speaking in the Jan. 10 “Dairy Radio Now” broadcast, HighGround Dairy’s Lucas Fuess said concern remains among traders regarding weaker milk production here in the United States and key areas

Cheese demand is steady in western retail mar- around the world. He added that, when we see the kets, while food service demand is, reportedly, strength in Class IV products like nonfat dry milk, increasing. Educational institutions’ purchasing is it lends support to cheese as well. Hopefully, with picking up as schools reconvene. International Class IV prices being as strong as they are, the demand is unchanged. Port congestion and a short- higher Class III milk prices will find their way to age of truck drivers continues to cause delays. dairy farmer pocketbooks. Severe weather in parts of the West was causing further delays — both to loads of cheese and supplies. Milk availability is increasing in the region, though some cheese makers report that snow was slowing delivery of production supplies. Checking production, November Cheese output totaled 1.119 billion pounds, according to the USDA’s latest Dairy Products report, down 2.9 percent from October but 1.6 percent above November 2020 and the highest November ever. Year-to-date output hit 12.5 billion pounds, up 3 percent from the same period in 2020.

Wisconsin produced 278.8 million pounds of the November total, down 3.7 percent from October but 1.1 percent above a year ago. California output, at 202.3 million, was down 1.7 percent from October, but 0.8 percent above a year ago. Idaho contributed 77.4 million pounds, down 9.9 percent from October and 6.9 percent below a year ago.

Italian style cheese totaled 482.9 million pounds, down 1.3 percent from October, but 6.2 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date, Italian cheese is at 5.3 billion pounds, up 3 percent.

American-type cheese, at 437.8 million pounds, was down 4.6 percent from October and 2.7 percent below a year ago. Year-to-date, American was at 5.1 billion pounds, up 3.9 percent.

Mozzarella totaled 373.7 million pounds, up 4.1 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date at 4.1 billion pounds, up 1.3 percent from 2020.

Cheddar, the cheese traded daily at the CME, totaled 307.4 million pounds. This is down 13 million pounds or 4.1 percent from October and 14.2 million pounds or 4.4 percent below a year ago. Year-to-date, cheddar stands at 3.6 billion pounds, up 2.6 percent from 2020.

Butter churns produced 156.3 million pounds, down 4.7 million pounds or 2.9 percent from October, and 16.6 million pounds or 9.6 percent below a year ago. Year-to-date, butter output stands at 1.9 billion pounds, down 2.8 percent from 2020.

Yogurt output totaled 349.5 million pounds, up 7 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date at 4.3 billion pounds, up 4.1 percent.

Dry whey production totaled 74.6 million pounds, down 6.9 million pounds or 8.4 percent from October, but 5.9 million pounds or 8.7 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date dry whey output was at 846.8 million pounds, down 2.6 percent from a year ago.

Dry whey stocks inched up to 61.6 million pounds, up 3.5 million or 6 percent from October, but were 5.9 million pounds or 8.7 percent below those a year ago.

Nonfat dry milk output totaled 132.2 million pounds, up 9 million pounds or 7.3 percent from October, but down 23.2 million or 14.9 percent below a year ago. Powder year-to-date totaled 1.8 billion pounds, up 2.2 percent.

Stocks fell to 196.5 million pounds, down 29.2 million pounds or 12.9 percent from October and were down 52.4 million pounds or 21 percent below those a year ago.

Skim milk powder production amounted to 49.1million pounds, down 19.6 million pounds or 28.5 percent from October’s level (which was revised up 10.4 million pounds) and was down 15.9 million

See MIELKE, pg. 18

MIELKE, from pg. 17

pounds or 24.5 percent below a year ago. Year-todate, skim milk powder, at 527.1 million pounds, is down 18.2 percent from 2020. n

The first Global Dairy Trade auction of 2022 inched higher with the weighted average rising 0.3 percent, after slipping 1.5 percent on Dec. 21 (the first decline since Aug. 3). Traders brought 67.6 million pounds of product to market, up from 67 million pounds in the last event.

Cheddar did the heavy lifting, jumping 4.9 percent after inching 0.5 percent higher on Dec. 21 — the biggest gain since Nov. 2. Buttermilk powder and skim milk powder were both up 1 percent, after skim milk powder inched 0.6 percent higher last time. Whole milk powder was unchanged, after dropping 3.3 percent. Butter was up 0.3 percent after a 1 percent gain last time, while anhydrous milkfat was off 0.7 percent following a gain of 0.9 percent.

StoneX Dairy Group says the GDT 80 percent butterfat butter price equates to $2.5969 per pound U.S., up just under a penny, and compares to CME butter which closed Jan. 7 at $2.7425. GDT cheddar, at $2.4891 per pound, was up 11.2 cents and compares to Jan. 7’s CME block cheddar at $1.9950. GDT skim milk powder averaged $1.7114 per pound, up from $1.6986. Whole milk powder averaged $1.7536 per pound, down from $1.7540. CME Grade A nonfat dry milk closed Jan. 7 at $1.71 per pound.

StoneX’s Dustin Winston reported, “North Asia (which includes China) buyers continue to seem hesitant, market share increased just slightly from the last event, but dropped a fair amount from last year.” n

In other trade news, U.S. dairy exports saw large gains in November. Cheese totaled 73.9 million pounds, up 39.9 percent from November 2020, strongest November on record, according to HighGround Dairy, driven by cheese moving to a variety of countries, but product to Mexico was especially impressive, up 65 percent.

Butter exports totaled 7.3 million pounds, up 142.8 percent. Nonfat dry milk-skim milk powder totaled 168.5 million pounds, a record high for November, up 24.7 percent, with Mexico maintaining the number one destination, up 6 percent, though Mexico’s market share fell to 35.5 percent vs. 41 percent last year, says HighGround Dairy. Dry whey exports totaled 39.6 million pounds, up 7.7 percent.

A judicial ruling this week has determined that “gruyere” is a generic style of cheese that can come from anywhere. The decision reaffirms that all cheesemakers, not just those in France or Switzerland, can continue to create and market cheese under this common name.

The decision drew praise from the Consortium for Common Food Names, U.S. Dairy Export Council, National Milk Producers Federation, and others seeking to preserve the use of generic terms.

Senior Judge T. S. Ellis III of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia upheld the Aug. 5, 2020, precedential decision of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

“Not only is this a landmark victory for American dairy farmers and cheese producers who offer gruyere, this win sets a vital precedent in the much larger, ongoing battle over food names in the United States,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director for CCFN. “The European Union has tried for years to monopolize common names such as gruyere, parmesan, bologna or chateau. This verdict validates that we’re on the right path in our fight on behalf of American food and wine producers to preserve their ability to use long-established generic names.” n

In politics, the United States prevailed in the first dispute settlement panel proceeding under the U.S.Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The USMCA was developed by the Trump Administration and replaced NAFTA.

The panel agreed with the United States that Canada is “unfairly restricting access to its market for U.S. dairy products by breaching its USMCA commitments regarding allocation of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs),” according to a USDA press release.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “This ruling is a big step for the U.S. dairy sector towards realizing the full benefits of the USMCA and securing real access to the Canadian market for additional high-quality American dairy products such as milk, cheese and skim milk powder.”

The announcement drew praise from the NMPF and USDEC. NMPF’s Jim Mulhern stated, “The United States and Canada negotiated specific market access terms covering a wide variety of dairy products, but instead of playing by those mutually agreed upon rules, Canada ignored its commitments. As a result, U.S. dairy farmers and exporters have been unable to make full use of USMCA’s benefits. Today’s decision is an important victory for U.S. dairy farmers and the millions of Americans whose jobs are tied to the U.S. dairy industry.”

The International Dairy Foods Association, the International Cheese Council of Canada, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, and Eucolait also applauded the findings, according to a joint press release.

Ending on a good note: dairy margins continued to strengthen over the second half of December with surging milk prices in both Class III and Class IV more than offsetting higher projected feed costs, according to the latest Margin Watch from Chicagobased Commodity and Ingredient Hedging LLC.

“The milk market continues to draw support from slowing production and robust demand,” the Margin Watch stated, and cited the lower milk output of the November data, as well as the falling cow numbers, reporting that the dairy herd is now down 47,000 cows from November 2020 at a 15-month low.

“Much of this loss has occurred in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest where poor weather, scarce feedstuffs, and more weight on the Class IV price in producer milk checks have combined to encourage herd liquidation.”

The Margin Watch cited data from the USDA’s latest Cold Storage report showing Nov. 30 butter stocks were down 67 million pounds from October and near the average drawdown over the previous five years, though larger than both 2020 and 2019. Total cheese stocks were down 27 million or 1.9 percent from October, the Margin Watch concluded, “the largest drawdown between the two months since 2016 with most of that decline accounted for by other cheese varieties which dropped 18.2 million pounds from October to November.”

Lee Mielke is a syndicated columnist who resides in Everson, Wash. His weekly column is featured in newspapers across the country and he may be reached at lkmielke@juno.com. v

Weather will be main price mover

NYSTROM, from pg. 16

Outlook: After impressive gains this week, the South American weather forecasts will continue to take center stage; but index rebalancing that suggests heavy soybean and meal buying will likely add support. If the mid-January maps turn to more favorable conditions, the downside could come quickly. This sounds like I’m hedging my bets and I am. Weather markets provide both risk and reward, but you still need to manage your risk either way and act accordingly. There are various tools to do this that fit your strategy and opinion. Good luck.

Technically, March soybeans next resistance comes in at its contract high at $14.45.5 per bushel with first support in the $13.70 per bushel area.

For the week, March soybeans soared 71 cents higher at $14.10.25, July surged 68.25 cents to $14.23.25, and November rallied 52.5 cents at $13.21.75 per bushel.

Weekly price changes in March wheat for the week ended Jan. 7: Chicago fell 12.25 cents to $7.58.5, Kansas City plunged 26.5 cents to $7.75, and Minneapolis dropped 58.75 cents to $9.23.25 per bushel. v

WILLMAR, Minn. — Registration is now open for SowBridge, the distance education series for people involved in managing or caring for sows, and/or their litters, and boars, including operation owners, caretakers, technicians, managers and technical service providers. New this year, the series will be provided online through Zoom, although participants will be able to use a call-in option instead if they prefer. Sarah Schieck Boelke, University of Minnesota Extension swine educator said, “Producers and others in the industry can get the information they need without the hassle of traveling or giving up a whole day to attend a meeting. Participants can take part where it works best for them whether at home, in an office or in the swine unit. And whether or not they can participate in the live session, all sessions are recorded and available to participants after each session for later use.”

The SowBridge program has 12 monthly sessions throughout the year. Sessions are generally scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., which includes time for questions. Cost for the series is $200 for the first registration from an entity and $100 for each subsequent registration from the same entity.

Registration information can be found at z.umn. edu/SowBridgeRegistration. Registration is due Jan. 18 to ensure materials are received for the first session.

SowBridge 2022 session dates and topics are as follows:

Feb. 2 — The Impact of Non-edible Trim Loss on Cull Sow Value.

March 2 — Proposition 12 Implications.

April 6 — Estrus Detection and Insemination Strategies for Different Housing Systems.

May 4 — Lactation Feeding Strategies. June 1 — Global African Swine Fever Overview.

July 6 — What Will Happen if ASF Comes to the United States?

Aug. 3 — How Does Mass Depopulation Work?

Sept. 7 — How Does PRRS 1-4-4 Compare to Other Strains?

Oct. 5 — Fan Maintenance and Ventilation Settings.

Nov. 2 — Body Assessment Methods.

Dec. 7 — Preweaning Piglet Survival.

Jan. 4, 2023 — PCAI: An Update on Adoption in the United States.

For more information on the sessions or registration, contact Sarah Schieck Boelke at (320) 235-0726 ext. 2004 or schi0466@umn.edu.

This article was submitted by University of Minnesota Extension. v

Snow is a consideration, but snow melt needs to be factored

SWINE & U, from pg. 15

Plow or scrape snow off to the side of outdoor exercise lots, feeding areas and heavy traffic lanes. Avoid pushing uphill of outdoor lots, feeding areas and traffic lanes. This will reduce snowmelt that is in — or drains through — the lot or feeding area. Avoid removing manure or wasted feed with the snow unless it will be land applied properly to cropland.

Carefully consider where you place snow when you move it around the farm. Locate piles so snowmelt will drain away from animal lots or traffic lanes rather than through them.

Ensure pump-out covers on deep manure pits are properly seated so snow and roof runoff do not drain into the pit. Adding snowmelt and rain runoff to a manure storage facility reduces manure storage capacity and adds to land application costs.

Consider the condition of your buildings

Snap, crackle, pop! A sound you want to hear when eating cereal, but not from your buildings in the winter. Signs of building failure (or damage) include walls bulging at the top from failing knee braces, sagging roof lines, doors or windows that no longer open, physical sounds of cracking and popping, and roof collapse. If there are indications of building damage or failure, do not climb onto the roof or enter the building.

One way to remove snow from a roof is to physically shovel off the snow. There are numerous human safety concerns with this, including falling off the roof. One should use ladders, safety ropes and the buddy system. Also watch out for power lines and take other necessary precautions which may include hiring a professional, if possible.

Where will the water go?

Janni concludes the snowmelt discussion with advice to prevent flooding in future years.

Divert drainage — In the spring, take a good look at the overall farmstead drainage pattern. If other parts of your property drain through the animal yards, feed storage areas, or high traffic areas, regrade the slope or add shallow diversion ditches so runoff water flows around the areas you want to protect.

Manage roof runoff — On some farms, water runs off the barn roof into animal lots. A shallow trench or ditch beneath the overhang can help direct this water out of the yard. Better yet, install gutters and downspouts that empty away from the animal lot. Also, grade the ground around farm buildings to slope away from the building. This helps move snowmelt and rain runoff away from the building and its contents.

Raise your grade — Another long-term solution is to avoid placing buildings, feed and bedding storage in low areas. And grade animal yards and the farmstead to provide continuous drainage away from the animals, feed storage, and high traffic areas. A 4 to 6 percent slope is recommended.

For more information on managing snow loads on barn and shed roofs, and handling snow around the farm, visit the University of Minnesota Extension website at https://extension.umn.edu/farm-safety

Diane DeWitte is an Extension Educator specializing in swine for the University of Minnesota Extension. Her e-mail address is stouf002@umn.eduv

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