The Latest: October - 2026
The Fresh Cheese Squeeze Is Over
The wild ride continued in the CME spot Cheddar market. Blocks soared in the first three weeks of October as cheese buyers scrambled to source fresh Cheddar from plants without production issues. And USDA offered more clarity on those ongoing issues, reporting in Dairy Market News, “The ongoing focus on high protein, premium whey concentrates has led some cheese manufacturers to push the cheesemaking process further than usual. This is increasing liquid whey output, resulting in more off spec cheese production.” Nonetheless, it seems that the fresh cheese squeeze is over.
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The U.S. dairy industry has expanded cheese processing capacity noticeably, and it shows. The flush has accelerated and, according to USDA’s Dairy Market News, cheese makers are “busy.”
View reportThe bulls continued their leisurely stroll through the dairy pits this week and the milk markets moved higher.
View reportSpring is here. Tankers are lining up at milk powder plants around the nation. A shortage of trucks and drivers is complicating the annual rush to move milk from regions with surplus to regions with spare balancing capacity. Milk powder demand remains strong as whey futures reached 14-year highs early in the week but then retreated.
View reportUSDA announced that it would end the Farmers to Families Food Box program after May, squelching hopes surrounding the government spending that propelled the cheese and Class III markets to unsustainable heights in 2020.
View reportNearly all products gained ground at the CME spot market with the exception of Whey. The other spot dairy products moved decisively upward.
View reportWith milk production expected to stay strong, dairy product production will continue to be robust. This aggressive production threatens to overhang the market unless demand can demonstrate a meaningful and sustained expansion.
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