Key Takeaways:
Demand and capacity decide where milk growth lands. Italian cheese is up 4.2 percent in 2026, and milk output is growing fastest in Kansas, South Dakota and Texas, where the new plants are located. Price spreads decide where the marginal milk goes. The Class IV premium over Class III peaked at $5.40 in May, and nonfat dry milk output is up 10.5 percent through August. In California, with flat milk production, cheese fell 6.6 percent while nonfat dry milk rose 28.2 percent. Make allowances are not a precise lever. Their effect is measured in cents against spreads measured in dollars, and it has not been isolated in the data. Watch September and October nonfat dry milk output. The premium narrowed to $0.72 in August before rec...
Markets are caught between reasons to keep selling and reasons to take another look. Fund liquidation and renewed peace talks are pressuring grains, while fresh export business and some diesel relief offer encouragement. Corn recovered nearly 10 cents from its low to finish higher, while soybea...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
