A2O-Lancaster Faming, Saturday, April 26, 1997 DAIRY WEEK DAIRY MARKET PRICE COMMENTARY Published Courtesy Bridge News Service Phone: (212) 269-1110 or E-mail: iwheeler@news.brldge.com (Reported from market conditions. Tuesday, April 22, 1997) Milk, Butler, Cheese Pressured By Spring ‘Flush’ NEW HORK The spring “flush” continues to spread through the US and is pressing on fluid milk prices as supplies are beginning to exceed demand in many regions. In Florida and the southeast, ideal weather conditions have kept output at peak production levels. Florida shippers were moving 16 to 18 loads of milk out of state each day, according to the USDA's Dairy Market News. In the northeast. Class I {Bices were firm due to storm warnings. However, condensed skim and fluid cream prices were weaker due to fluid milk surpluses that were said to be moderate to heavy, according to the USDA. In the western US, production is high due to cool nights that have balanced higher daytime tempera hires. Total March milk output in the 20 major producing states totaled 11.5 billion pounds, up 3% on a year-to-date basis, according to the USDA. Per cow output in these states averaged 1,491 pounds, up 22 pounds from March 1996. The number of cows on farms in the 20 states was 7.73 million-head, down from 8.63 million-head from March 1996. First-quarter 1997 milk produc tion was 38.8 billion pounds, Llama Lecture KENN E T T SQUARE (Chester Co.) The last of three lec tures for the 1996-1997 Public Lecture Series offered by The Univer sity of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine will take place Thursday, May 15, at 7 p.m. in the Woemer Amphitheater of the George D. Widener Hospital at New Bolton Center, the large animal campus for the veterin ary school in Kennett Square. “Introduction To the Llama” is scheduled Thursday, May 15 (approximately one hour). This lecture is designed to introduce the “newcomer” to lla mas. It covers behavior, housing, nutrition, vac cinations, deworming, and general care. There will be a question/ answer period. If time allows and depending upon the audience, a brief discussion of reproduction and health care issues will be included. While these courses are free, reservations are required, and must be made as space is lim ited. Please call the Communications Office at NBC. (610) 444-5800, extension 2182 for more informa tion and reservations. down 0.6% from the first quarter of 1996. The average number of milk cows in the US during this period was 9.26 million-head, down 133,000 head on a year-to date basis, according to the USDA. NATIONAL CHEESE EXCHANGE At the National Exchange in Green Bay, Wis., Cheddar cheese prices weakened in line with low er milk prices. Cheese barrels were down 4.75 cents per pound at $1.17 per pound while 40-pound blocks were down 50 to $1.20 per pound Friday. Seven cars of blocks traded. The market c losed with bids on 3 cars of blocks unfilled and offers for 10 cars of barrels uncovered. Cash Cheddar trading will shift to the Chicago Mercantile Ex change May 1. Butter prices also felt the pres sure of building milk supplies. Grade AA butter at the Chicago Mercantile fell 130 to 910 per pound while Grade A was down 130 to 800. Grade B dropped 140 to 780 per pound. Wheat prices firmed amid crop concerns in the US and overseas. Traders said the market was un derpinned by the recent freeze damage in the hard red winter wheat belt, although loss esti- BUTTER GRAINS mates continue to vary from less than 100 million bushels to more than 200 million. CBT Jly wheat settled at 4.44 A per bushel Fri day. Com is seen riding the coattails of higher wheat prices. Demand is keeping old-crop contracts Arm, while new-crop finds pressure from the impending large crop. As farmers head to their fields, de mand for com in the cash market is pushing basis levels uup. CBT Jly com settled at 3.00 'A Friday. Friday’s USDA cattle-on-feed Comprehensive Dairy Evaluations Now Available Quarterly BELTSVILLE, Md. The U.S. dairy industry will be able to pinpoint some of the best bulls and cows three months sooner than usual, thanks to a doubling in the number of dairy evaluation reports issued each year through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Dairy Herd Improvement Associ ation provides the information for the reports. Starting May 5, the reports will be issued quarterly rather than semi-annually and will evaluate each animal based on all its rela tives enrolled in the Dairy Herd Improvement Association prog ram. The reports which animals are oustanding in characteristics such as milk yield; milk composi tion; somatic cell score, an indica tion of resistance to the disease mastitis; and productive life, a measure of longevity and animal well-being. Farmers and businesses specia lizing in artificial insemination and embryo transfer rely on the dairy evaluations to help identify report was termed neutral to slightly supportive. The increase in feed demand shown by the data was mostly accounted for in the last quarterly stocks report, ac cording to traders. FUTURES Dairky futures contracts fol lowed the downward trend in the dairy cash markets. At the Coffee, Sugar, and Co coa Exchange, May fluid milk fu tures settled up 13 points at 11.45 c Friday but the contract lost 58 points on the week. the best animals for breeding. “Finding out sooner which ani mals are top quality just makes sense,” said geneticist Duane Nor man, who heads the ARS Animal Improvement Programs Laborat ory here, where the evaluations are calculated. “If a farmer identi fies a high-performing cow when she’s younger, it’s possible he can get more offspring from her dur ing her lifetime.” Increasing the number of evalu ations will also enhance interna tional marketing opportunities for the U.S. dairy industry. “We don’t want to make U.S. artificial insemination organiza tions wait up to six months before knowing the quality of their bulls, Annual Spring Seminar LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) The Pennsylvania Emu Far mers Association (PEFA) will be holding its annual spring seminar, Saturday, May 17, focusing on farm management, marketing, and profit, in Lancaster. This is a don’t-miss event for anyone serious about emu farming for profit. The guest speaker will be Joe Cates, a Texas farmer and marketer. Also featured will be emu product vendors and emu food vendors. The seminar will be held at the Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arca dia Road, Lancaster. Registration '95 White Star IV CLEAN CfUf- The June BFP cont ract settled at 12.01 c Friday, down 6 points from Thursday and 6 points for the week. BFP trading has received a fa vorable start, traders said. Total open interest Friday was 254 con tracts. The Chicago Mercantile Ex change’s (CME) June butter con tract settled at $1.0275c Friday, down 4.25 c for the week. CME June fluid milk settled at $12.75 Friday, down 75 poiints fra- the week. that puts them at a disadvantage with breeders and businesses in other countries who receive then evaluations as frequently as monthly,” said Norman. “Each generation of livestock improves over the last, so the sooner U.S. breeder can take advantage of that, the better.” Advances in computer power and streamlined processing proce dures have cut the time needed to prepare the report from eight weeks down to five, Norman said. The reports will be issued in May, August, November and February. USDA has provided the bull evaluations to the dairy industry since 1935 and cow evaluations since 1964. will be from 8 a.m.-9 a.m. with the following costs: PEFA Members (preregistered) $7 per person. Nonmembers (preregistered) are $lO per person. At the door, $l3 per person will be charged. After 1 p.m. the public is invited to, free or charge, meet with Pennsylvania emu farmers, visit with emu vendors, and learn about farm management, market ing, and profits from Joe Cates. Take advantage of this oppor tunity to learn about emu farming. For directions and additional information, contact Vicki Grove, (717) 284-2551 or Sharon Alt lund, (717) 432-8965.
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