A mild winter in the northern-tier states, in sharp contrast to last year, has helped sustain milk production levels. In the Upper Midwest temperatures remain 7-12° above normal for early February, though much colder weather is expected this weekend.

Weather also has been mild in California’s Central Valley, but with much less rain than usual. Whey and NDM prices were lower in Dairy Market News’ weekly survey. Midwestern dry whey is mostly 69¢-72¢ and Western dry whey is mostly 65¢-69.5¢. The Western price is down 4.5¢ (at the midpoint of the range) from two weeks ago. “Buyer interest in dry whey spot loads, which was aggressive in recent weeks, has retreated to moderate levels,” says DMN. “There is some pushback to contracted prices on the high side with buyers looking for lower-priced offerings. Manufacturers are finding they need to price product lower to move quantity sales in the export market.” Whey futures were mostly lower today; second-quarter contracts average 50.7¢ and second-half contracts average 46.0¢.

Western NDM is pegged at mostly $1.3200-$1.3750, down three-quarters of a cent (at the midpoint of the range) from last week. Production and inventories are building seasonally. Buyers are content to purchase hand-to-mouth while the price is declining.

Further Reading