Class III and Class IV milk prices are expected to strengthen in May following months of depressed prices based on a preview of Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) milk class prices. Announced June 4, May 2025 FMMO Class II, Class III and Class IV milk prices were mixed, with Class II continuing to fall but Classes III and IV showing signs of improvement. Class I tumbled $1.20 per hundredweight (cwt) to $18.37 per cwt, as announced previously.
May 2025 FMMO pooling estimates, uniform prices and producer price differentials (PPDs) will be released June 11-14. Watch Progressive Dairy’s website for an update.
May class prices
Class prices announced June 4 were:
- At $18.72 per cwt in May, the Class II milk price is down 50 cents from the previous month and down $2.78 per cwt from May 2024.
- The May Class III milk price rose $1.09 per cwt from April to $18.57 per cwt. It’s up 2 cents from the same month last year.
- At $18.13 per cwt, the Class IV milk price increased 21 cents from the previous month but is down $2.37 per cwt from May 2024.
The gap between May 2025 Class III and Class IV milk prices was 44 cents with Class III on top, giving some incentives for depooling of Class III milk and potentially affecting FMMO pooling.
Butterfat, protein values
The value of butterfat continued to rebound in May with the price at $2.66 per pound, another 2 cents more than April. Milk protein rose 32 cents from April to $2.48 per pound, reflecting a price seen earlier in February and March.
Compared to April, the May value of nonfat solids was $1.01 per pound, up 2 cents. Other solids rose slightly to 32 cents per pound, up 1 cent from the previous month.
Looking ahead
Based on FMMO advanced prices and current futures prices, the outlooks for June regional uniform milk prices are anticipated to be depressed still before regaining strength later in the summer.
The June 2025 advanced Class I base price is down $1.11 per cwt from May to $17.26 per cwt. The price marks the lowest Class I base price of 2025 to date while also being the first price announcement under the FMMO revisions, reverting calculations back to the “higher-of” formula.
June 2025 Class II, III and IV milk prices will be announced July 2. The Class III milk price futures have lost a bit of ground as the value of cheddar has yo-yoed, but improvements in the Class IV milk price futures are welcomed. These June prices announced next month will also reflect the FMMO modernization provision.
As of end of trading June 3, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) June Class III milk futures price settled at $18.70 per cwt, up just 10 cents from May’s price. And, the June Class IV milk futures price closed at $18.40 per cwt, up 27 cents from May. If Class III-IV futures prices hold, the June Class III-IV milk price gap will be 30 cents, adding incentives for Class III depooling.
