MD_DA851 Cheese Highlights Report 39 - Released on September 30, 2022 In the Northeast and West, milk is available for steady cheesemaking. Meanwhile, contacts in the Midwest say milk volumes have been declining over the past few weeks. This decline in milk availability is contributing to some down time at Midwestern cheese plants. Demand for cheese is softening in the East but remains healthy throughout the Midwest. In the West, retail demand for cheese is declining while steady demand for cheese is present in food service markets. Strong international demand persists in the West, as contacts say domestically produced loads of cheese are priced at a discount to loads produced in other countries. Spot purchasers in the Northeast say loads of cheese are available. Cheese barrels are tight in the Midwest but less available than blocks in the West. Some contacts suggest this is contributing to the inversion of the block barrel price relationship on the CME. Information for the period September 26 - 30, 2022, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: CME: Barrels closed at $2.2000 and 40# blocks at $1.9675. The weekly average for barrels is $2.1980 (+0.0335) and blocks, $1.9885 (-0.0310). 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