Whats Down the Road for Milk Prices?
Dr. Cameron Thraen, Milk Marketing Specialist, The Ohio State University, Additional milk marketing information by Dr. Thraen (top of page) As we enter the fall of the 2005 calendar year, it is time to take stock of where we are with milk prices and where we are likely to go in the next 15 months. In this column, I will review the trends observed in the cash markets for dairy commodities; take a look at the relationship of butter and cheese inventories to high and low milk prices; and finally stick my neck out and provide a forecast for the remainder of 2005 and for 2006. Let’s get to it! Cheese Market After peaking at $1.73/lb in the last week of January 2005, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) average cheese price has followed a general downward trend through mid-August. Over the last 10 weeks, the CME cash cheese market has traded in a narrow band between $1.45 and $1.55/lb. The last week of October and the first week of November witnessed a fundamental adjustment in the cheese m
