MD_DA440
Butter - Western U.S.
Report 32 - Released on August 06, 2020
Western butter markets remain unsettled. In some cases, buyers are holding off on purchases,
waiting to see if the cash markets post lower prices for the next week. A few butter makers
say this makes it difficult to plan production cycles for the week. Butter production is
steady overall, but manufacturers are trying to find the right balance between the types and
packaging of butter produced. Cream is more readily available. Ice cream and other Class II
cream products have slowed their seasonal production runs, freeing up the cream for the
churns. The reinstatement of some COVID-19 restrictions in a few western states has muted
the already slow food service business. While seasonal vegetable processing is starting to
increase, overall bulk butter demand is weak. Retail sales continue to surpass sales volumes
of previous years, but it is not enough to make up the difference of lost bulk butter sales.
Butter stocks are heavy on bulk butter holdings and print butter supplies are tight.
Prices for: Western U.S., All First Sales, F.O.B., Grade AA, Conventional, and Edible Butter
Bulk Basis Pricing - 80% Butterfat $/LB: 0.0000 - +0.0600
Information for the period August 3 - 7, 2020, issued weekly
Secondary Sourced Information:
DAIRY PRODUCTS REPORT � BUTTER SUMMARY
Released August 4, 2020, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS),
Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Butter Production � States and United States: June 2019 and 2020
Monthly Production (1000 pounds) Percent Change from
June May June June May
Region 2019 2020 2020 2019 2020
United States 154,848 177,966 150,018 -3.1 -15.7
Atlantic 14,824 16,370 14,335 -3.3 -12.4
Central 59,583 68,235 54,912 -7.8 -19.5
West 80,441 93,361 80,771 0.4 -13.5
California 45,524 55,557 49,225 8.1 -11.4
Butter Production � Cumulative Production January - June
Cumulative Production Percent Change
(1000 pounds) from
Report Month 2019 2020 2019
June 1,049,166 1,122,858 7.0
CME GROUP MONTHLY AVERAGES
The CME Group July 2020 monthly average price for AA butter is $1.6925, compared to the
June 2020 monthly average of $1.8291. One year ago, the CME Group monthly average was
$2.3897.
CME CLOSING PRICE
The Grade AA butter price at the CME Group on Wednesday closed at $1.xxxx, compared to the
weekly average price of $1.6415 from last week.
EXPORT ASSISTANCE
This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for 41,888 pounds (19
metric tons) of butter and 1.157 million pounds (525 metric tons) of anhydrous milkfat. So
far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell
6.288 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 3.117 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat
in export markets. When combined with other dairy products, the program has assisted members
with sales of 694.6 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.
Published by:
Dairy Market News - Madison, WI
MIKE BANDLI, (608)422-8592
Email: mike.bandli@usda.gov
Additional Dairy Market News Information:
Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602
DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov