Blimling and Associates Blog

Dairy cow slaughter for the week ending December 12 was 52,037 head, down 0.6% from the same week last year.

This puts slaughter up 244,000 head year-over-year, YTD through week 50.

Humboldt Supervisors Ask State to Clear Dairy Debt

US Milk Falls on Large Cheese Stocks, Block Decline

More Takeover Bids for Wararnambool Cheese and Butter

Dairy Economist Says Federal Dairy Aid Won't Help Idaho Producers Much

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.5900/lb, down $0.1100/lb with 5 trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.4400/lb, up $0.0100/lb with 4 trades.

Butter closed at $1.3275/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.3700/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.4000/lb, unchanged wth no trades.

Moody's to Review Dean Foods for Possible Upgrade

Dairy Payments 'Drop in Bucket'

China Arrests Father Active on Melamine Milk Issues

Nestle Shuts Zimbabwe Milk Plant

Dairy Industry Prospects Good for 2010

Temporary Price Lift in Future for CA Dairy Farmers

According to the USDA/NASS Cold Storage Report, published at 2:00pm CT today:

November 30 AMERICAN-TYPE CHEESE stocks @ 582.7 million pounds, up 10.6% year-over-year and up 0.5% versus October 2009 (that compares to an average October-to-November decrease of 4.0% over the previous five years).

November 30  TOTAL CHEESE stocks @ 961.4 million pounds, up 17.4% year-over-year and down 0.8% versus October 2009 (that compares to an average October-to-November decrease of 3.3% over the previous five years).

November 30  BUTTER stocks @ 142.2 million pounds, up 18.5% year-over-year and down 25.4% versus October 2009 (that compares to an average October-to-November decrease of 32.7% over the previous five years).

For more information on what this might mean for the markets, request a free trial subscription to the Dairy Research Service.

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.7000/lb, unchanged with 5 trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.4300/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Butter closed at $1.3275/lb, up $0.0025/lb with 4 trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.3700/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.4000/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Cheese, Butter, and Milk Prices to Rise

Price Recovery Sure, but Slow

Fonterra Lifts Milk Price

Dairy Confidence Improves Again

The CME Dairy Markets (and the Blimling offices) will be open until noon Central on Thursday, December 24th and closed on Friday, December 25th.

Spot markets will trade for cheese, NDM, and butter on December 24.

This information is subject to change per the discretion of the CME Group.

A faltering dairy sector has certainly created economic challenges in the Central Valley of California this year. The problems go beyond dairy, of course: real estate values have plummeted. A CNBC.com post today discusses ongoing issues with mortgage debt, even among households that have managed to get loan terms modified. 

Nearly 40 percent of homeowners who received a loan modification that reduced monthly loan payments by 20 percent or more were at least two months late again within a year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said Monday.

The story is accompanied by a list of the 10 US Cities with the greatest percentage of "underwater" mortgages. The Central Valley is well represented, with Modesto and Merced ranking #3 and #6, respectively. Stockton is #2. 

Unemployment is rampant in the Valley, as well, with rates in Visalia, Merced and Modesto all in the 16% area -- and near the top of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' ranking of unemployment in 372 metropolitan areas.

Tough times all the way around.

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.7000/lb, down $0.0025/lb with 14 trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.4300/lb, down $0.0100/lb with 2 trades.

Butter closed at $1.3250/lb, unchanged with 8 trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.3700/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.4000/lb, unchanged with no trades.