Blimling and Associates Blog

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.3950/lb, down $0.0175/lb with 8 trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.3700/lb, down $0.0075/lb with 3 trades.

Butter closed at $1.3750/lb, up $0.0150/lb with 3 trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.1200/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.2400/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Dean Foods Approaching Support

European Committee Outlines Plans for EU Dairy Industry

New Zealand Dairy Cattle Welfare Code Comes Under Fire

EU Dairy Fund Must Be Shared By All

According to the USDA/NASS Milk Production Report, released at 2:00pm CT today:

January 50-state MILK PRODUCTION @ 16.040 billion pounds, down 0.6% versus January 2009 levels. 

January 23-state MILK PRODUCTION @ 14.817 billion pounds, down 0.6% versus January 2009 levels. 

January 50-state COWS @ 9,085,000 head, down 227,000 head over January 2009 levels and up 3,000 head from the December 2009 estimate (the December estimate was unchanged, making for a 3,000 head report-to-report change)

January 23-state COWS @ 8,315,000 head, down 191,000 head over January 2009 levels and up 2,000 head from the December 2009 estimate (the December estimate was revised down 2,000 head, making for a 4,000 head report-to-report change)

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

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4125/lb, down $0.0150/lb with no trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.3775/lb, down $0.0100/lb with 2 trades.

Butter closed at $1.3600/lb, down $0.0200/lb with 4 trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.1200/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.2400/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Waldo Cow Sets National Milk Production Record

Nestle Eyes Growth After Good Year

'Encouraging' Outlook for Liquid Milk Market

Warrnambool Cheese Rejects Higher Murray Goulburn Bid

India May Import SMP, Butter Oil to Meet Shortage

US Midwest Farmland Values Edged Higher in 2009

Dairy cow slaughter for the week ending February 6 was 56,185 head, down 8.7% from the same week last year.

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4275/lb, down $0.0175/lb with no trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.3875/lb, down $0.0275/lb with 5 trades.

Butter closed at $1.3800/lb, up $0.0450/lb with 18 trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.1200/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.2400/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Snow Disrupts Maryland Milk Production

India to Face Milk Shortage as Demand Rises

Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Likely to Reject Latest Takeover Bid

Burger King to Raise Price of Its $1 Double Cheeseburger

Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Trading Halt

NZ Dairy Farm Sales Drop

Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4450/lb, down $0.0350/lb with 4 trades.

Barrel cheese closed at $1.4150/lb, down $0.0100/lb with no trades.

Butter closed at $1.3350/lb, up $0.0050/lb with 3 trades.

Grade A NDM closed at $1.1200/lb, up $0.0150/lb with 1 trade.

Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.2400/lb, unchanged with no trades.

Darden Family Restaurants unexpectedly raised guidance for the current quarter yesterday. According to Fox Business News:  

The owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants, Darden Restaurants (DRI: 40.4, 1.4, 3.59%), upped its outlook for profits thanks to heightened consumer traffic. The company now says per-share earnings from continuing operations will be up by 5-8% for its fiscal year ending in May, up from December’s prediction of flat to a 4% rise.

"The signs of sales and traffic improvement we began to see late in the second quarter and discussed during our December conference call with investors continued into January and February," said Darden CEO Clarence Otis in a statement.

The Orlando, Florida-based company, which also owns LongHorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille restaurants, says it will add between 50 and 55 new restaurants to its roster during the year.

Shares of Darden rose 3% on Tuesday to $40.16.

In the previous quarter (ending in November) Darden's concepts all showed declines in same-store sales on a year-over-year basis, with Olive Garden down 1%, Red Lobster down 8% and LongHorn down 5%. Moreover, most chains that have over the past two weeks reported results quarters ending in December also said same-store sales had declined. For all that, there has been discussion in recent weeks that things have firmed some -- a notion affirmed by Darden today. 

While Darden's report won't be an immediate game changer in terms of dairy product demand, the mid-stream boost to estimates stands out -- and may be a sign that things are, at long last, turning some in the beleaguered restaurant space.