MD_DA851 Cheese Highlights Report 2 - Released on January 13, 2023 National Milk Day was January 11th and, fittingly, cheesemakers across all regions reported plentiful volumes for production. In the Midwest, contacts report some firmer sub-Class prices than last week's $7 under, though milk remains available as low as $10 under Class. In the Northeast and West, cheesemakers are using available volumes of milk to run busy production schedules. Some plant managers in these two regions say labor shortages and delayed deliveries of production supplies are preventing them from operating at or near capacity. In the Northeast food service demand is steady and strong demand is present from retail customers who are replenishing their stocks following the recent holidays. Contacts in the West report steady to lighter demand from both retail and food service customers. In the Midwest, some cheesemakers report current bullish market swings are not reflective of recent demand tones, as sales have softened in recent weeks. In the Northeast and West, stakeholders say cheese is available for spot purchasing. In the Midwest, cheese inventories are expected to grow, and some process cheesemakers are concerned about near term inventory growth. Information for the period January 9 - 13, 2023, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: CME: Barrels closed at $1.7075 and 40# blocks at $2.0000. The weekly average for barrels is $1.7715 (+0.0452) and blocks, $2.1300 (+0.1287). Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI ROMAN CARAMAN, 608-422-8593 Email: roman.caraman@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