Producer milk checks will be lower once again in March based on a preview of Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) milk class prices. Announced April 2, March 2025 FMMO Class II, Class III and Class IV milk prices were down once again from the month prior. Class I milk class prices also fell, as announced previously.
March 2025 FMMO pooling estimates, uniform prices and producer price differentials (PPDs) will be released April 11-14 and summarized by April 17. Watch Progressive Dairy’s website for an update.
March class prices
Class prices announced April 2 were:
- At $20.12 per hundredweight (cwt), the March Class II milk price is down 96 cents from February and down $1 from the same month a year ago.
- The March Class III milk price fell $1.56 from February to $18.62 per cwt. It’s up $2.28 from March 2024.
- At $18.21 per cwt, the March Class IV milk price is down $1.69 from February and down $1.88 from this time last year.
Potentially affecting FMMO pooling, the gap between March 2025 Class III and Class IV milk prices increased slightly to 41 cents per cwt – with Class III again on top – and giving some incentives for depooling Class III milk.
March FMMO blend prices will be weakened by a lower advanced Class I base price, previously announced at $21.02 per cwt, down a quarter from February.
Butterfat, protein values
March milk class prices were influenced by the value of butterfat falling another 20 cents from February to $2.62 per pound. This is the lowest butterfat price seen since December 2021.
The value of milk protein fell a slim 7 cents to $2.46 per pound, retreating from February’s high.
Compared to February, the March value of nonfat solids was down 12 cents at $1.04 per pound, while the other solids dipped about 11 cents to 36 cents per pound.
Looking ahead
Based on FMMO advanced prices and current futures prices, the outlooks for April regional uniform milk prices are lower for another month.
Already announced, the April 2025 advanced Class I base price is $19.57 per cwt, down a staggering $1.45 from March.
April 2025 Class II, III and IV milk prices will be announced April 30. Both Class III and IV milk futures prices have been declining due in part to tariff concerns and a growing milk supply with the spring flush.
As of trading on April 1, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) April Class III milk futures price closed at $17.11 per cwt, down $1.55 from March’s price. And the April Class IV milk futures price closed at $18.01 per cwt, down just 30 cents from March.
If Class III-IV futures prices hold, the April Class III-IV milk price gap will increase to 90 cents per cwt, adding incentives for Class IV depooling.
