MD_DA431 Butter - Central U.S. Report 8 - Released on February 24, 2021 Butter producers relay cream offers are aplenty. Suppliers are moving cream from the area hit hardest by the storms last week (from Southeast to Southwest) into the Midwest. Additionally, cream accessibility is and has been steady in the Midwest and West for a majority of the year. Regardless, butter plant managers are churning at full bore throughout the region. With the new crop rule coming into effect next week on the CME, market tones have stepped back from the mid $1.50s late last week. The NASS Cold Storage report showed continual, and notable, gains in stocks. That said, domestic bulk butter demand is stepping up, as traders also report a strong interest from export markets for unsalted butter. There are some contacts who suggest this could lead to a potential shift from salted bulk production to unsalted 82% butterfat loads in the near term. Prices for: Central U.S., All First Sales, F.O.B., Grade AA, Conventional, and Edible Butter Bulk Basis Pricing - 80% Butterfat $/LB: +0.0075 - +0.0500 Information for the period February 22 - 26, 2021, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: COLD STORAGE – BUTTER SUMMARY Released February 23, 2021, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 1/31/21 Stocks in all Warehouses (1,000 pounds) as a percent of 1/31/20 12/31/20 1/31/21 1/31/20 12/31/20 Butter Stocks 247,376 273,805 328,434 133 120 This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance to sell 837,757 pounds (380 metric tons) of butter. Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI Israel Weber Email: israel.weber@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