Results had the U.S. milking herd pegged at 9.418 million, up 1,000 head from last month. September’s report was revised 6,000 head higher for a 7,000 cow addition report-to-report. Compared to last year, the 2022 herd now stands 31,000 higher. Milk Production as a whole totaled 18.850 billion pounds, up 1.2% from last year which ended up slightly behind the previous couple months but within expectations. By region, the Southwest (+3.2%) led year-over-year comparisons followed by the Midwest (+2.2%), Pacific Northwest (+1.7%), Northeast (+1.3%), and the Mideast (+0.2%). Lagging behind was California at -0.5%.
CME spot dairy auction results saw barrel cheese falter 8.5 cents/lb to $1.8425. Block cheese dipped 3.25 cents to $2.20/lb. Butter put together an impressive 8 cent rebound with settlement coming in at $2.90/lb. Whey and nonfat dry milk both closed unchanged at $0.44/lb and $1.4275/lb, respectively.
CME Class III milk futures were under pressure all day. December ended 22 cents softer at $21.25/cwt. January through June 2023 traded 13-33 lower with the first half average sitting at $20.06/cwt. Second half months ranged from 8-20 cents softer. Class IV traded Monday with an unchanged to slightly lower tone.
