The price of butter has declined on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to its lowest point since the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America.
But cheese prices continued to climb.
The price of skim milk powder also declined.
In Ottawa, the Canadian Dairy Commission announced that the low-priced 4(m) milk class has been updated to allow dairy processors to include liquid or evaporated buttermilk for making animal feed.
Eligible end-uses for products sold in the 4(m) class already include skim milk powder bought either for direct feeding to farm animals, or for blending and repackaging into a feed blend.
The class also includes the animal feed blends themselves, to be sold for feed as-is.
At a dairy industry meeting in Wisconsin this week, economist Mark Stephenson of the University of Wisconsin said current milk production is in three per cent surplus. Anything beyond a two per cent increase means exports need to increase, he said.
Despite supply management in Canada, U.S. and global dairy markets have an indirect impact on Canadian prices for industrial milk.
Trade agreements strictly limit Canadian dairy exports, explaining why skim milk powder that is surplus to consumer demand is diverted for use in animal rations.
