Dairy producers should anticipate another month of lower milk prices based on a preview of Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) milk class prices. Announced April 30, April 2025 FMMO Class II, Class III and Class IV milk prices were lower than March’s prices. The Class I base price also dropped to $19.57 per hundredweight (cwt), as announced previously.
April 2025 FMMO pooling estimates, uniform prices and producer price differentials (PPDs) will be released May 11-14. Watch Progressive Dairy’s website for an update.
April class prices
Class prices announced April 30 were:
- At $19.22 per cwt, the April Class II milk price is down 90 cents from March and down $2.01 from the same month a year ago.
- The April Class III milk price fell $1.14 from the previous month to $17.48 per cwt. It’s up $1.98 per cwt from April 2024.
- At $17.92 per cwt, the April Class IV milk price is down 29 cents from March and down $2.19 from this time last year.
The gap between April 2025 Class III and Class IV milk prices was 44 cents with Class IV on top, giving some incentives for depooling of Class IV milk, potentially affecting FMMO pooling.
Butterfat, protein values
The value of butterfat remained relatively unchanged from March at $2.64 per pound, just 2 cents greater than the month prior, while the value of milk protein settled at $2.16 per pound, falling 30 cents from March.
Compared to March, the April value of nonfat solids was 99 cents per pound, down 5 cents. Other solids stumbled 5 cents, to 31 cents per pound.
Looking ahead
Based on FMMO advanced prices and current futures prices, the outlooks for May regional uniform milk prices are anticipated to be lower yet again.
The May 2025 advanced Class I base price is down $1.20 per cwt from April to $18.37 per cwt. While more than $1 lower than the month prior, May’s advanced Class I base price is only 9 cents lower than the same month a year ago.
May 2025 Class II, III and IV milk prices will be announced June 4. Both Class III and IV milk futures prices have been falling with June milk checks expected to be smaller than in previous months. This is due to lower adjusted forecasts of cheese and whey prices as well as lower butter and nonfat dry milk projections.
As of trading April 29, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) May Class III milk futures price settled at $18.34 per cwt, up $1.29 per cwt from April’s price. And the May Class IV milk futures price closed at $17.93 per cwt, down 8 cents from April. If Class III-IV futures prices hold, the May Class III-IV milk price gap will be 41 cents, adding incentives for Class III depooling.
