28 May 2020: Is the surge slowing?

The milk powder market is gently firmer this week, but the signs are there that it may be plateauing.

Skim milk jumped significantly on edible grade, up €70 on the week, and feed grade a more modest €30 higher, but still posting at €1930, which is still well under the actual offered level. Having said that, offers of skim milk powder are more readily available, so as supply becomes easier, upward price pressure becomes less pressing. Although the spring calving season is over, demand from Eastern Europe and the Middle East is still brisk for calf milk replacers.

Whey surprises, only €10 up in France and unchanged in Netherlands, as demand from S E Asia for whey and its derivatives is still raging. Against that, ASF is prevalent in Romania again, reducing demand, but full post-lockdown cheese production hasn’t been achieved yet, so upward price pressure remains.

Sterling continues to underperform, as the Cummings row rages on, but I read somewhere that Boris sacking the chief adviser would be similar to Emu sacking Rod Hull. The Eurozone post-COVID rescue package seems to have played well with the markets, and sterling still languishes in the seemingly eternal Brexit quagmire.

BDC agri is the UK broker for Lacto Production milk and whey powder products.

For further information and prices, contact Greg Dunn on 01206 381521 or g.dunn@blackdiamondcommodities.com

21 May 2020: Milk powder prices keeping dairies afloat?

The gap between the quoted and physically available prices for skim milk is narrowing, with the Dutch market posting €50 gains, making spot price €1900, opposed to the €2000 it is possible to buy at. Whey has jumped up €30 this week, as expected, but there is more availability. My mid-lockdown theory about cheesemakers mothballing production is totally reversed, as particularly the French are munching their way through enormous quantities of Emmental at home, whilst mozzarella is still at a standstill due to the collapse in pizza demand, so there is plenty of whey about, and that may well cap this rise before we get to Q3. Brands like President (butter and camembert) are experiencing record sales, and are certainly present in the fridge at Dunn Towers, as is newly arrived skim milk powder, the first since lockdown. Whey traders in particular are happy to surf the new wave in skim milk, so it will probably take several weeks for whey to plateau.

Skim milk supply and demand is a puzzle, though, as French dairy producers are still getting high prices at peak production, despite the warnings of doom and gloom further ahead. This must be domestic demand, as compared with countries like the Czech Republic reporting milk prices at nearly half the French levels, the demands of dairy giants like Lactalis and Sodiaal for reduced production and prices will be enforced by imports.

Sterling is a basket case again, more than three cents off recent highs against the euro for no identifiable reason. Perhaps traders' suspect Cummings seems happier to throw the red meat of a no deal Brexit to the redhead press than modify the government’s stance in dealing with the post-Covid bomb site of the economy.

BDC agri is the UK broker for Lacto Production milk and whey powder products.

For further information and prices, contact Greg Dunn on 01206 381521 or g.dunn@blackdiamondcommodities.com

Pidolin curious?

Calcium pidolate was originally developed to treat osteoporosis in humans. The main symptom of osteoporosis is depletion of collagen in bones, making them brittle and prone to fracture.

French company Dietaxion identified calcium pidolate as a treatment for deficiencies in eggshell quality over 20 years ago, and have been successfully selling their brand PIDOLin PCa® worldwide ever since.

Calcium pidolate for poultry – how does it work in rear and late lay?

Problems with poor eggshell quality have traditionally been addressed by adding various calcium sources to the diet, but this does not tackle the root of the problem.

But is in fact the quality of the egg membrane that dictates the integrity of the shell deposited around it.

The principal constituent of the membrane is collagen. When the laying hen grows older, it becomes less efficient at synthesising collagen of the optimal quality. This results in a thinner membrane, less capable of supporting the eggshell. The eggshells of older birds are thus inherently weaker, leading to a significant increase in seconds.

The calcium-binding protein in PIDOLin PCa® facilitates the absorption of calcium sources in the diet into the blood and then into bones. It then mobilises calcium from the medullar bone into eggshell formation.

Feeding PIDOLin PCa® from week 50 (or when seconds start to increase) can reduce seconds by more than 20% and usually increases collectable eggs by 1-2%.

When fed in rear, for the first 28 days of life, better bone development and muscle laydown is observed, with significant improvement in uniformity and reduction in mortality. This early treatment, costing less than 1p/pullet, also reduces problems with eggshell quality in late lay and extends flock life. Returns are usually greater than 2:1 against cost.

For further information, call Greg Dunn on 01206 381521.

Download further information as a pdf.