After a nice run of Class III milk prices, July’s forecast price fell more than $1, reflective of a sharp drop in cheese prices from the growing processing capacity that is being met with a hardy supply. Class IV and Class II prices are expected to rise over the same period, according to the July 2025 Federal Milk Marketing Order announcement of class and component prices released July 30.
July 2025 FMMO pooling estimates, uniform prices and producer price differentials (PPDs) will be released Aug. 11-14. Watch Progressive Dairy’s website for an update.
July class prices
Class prices announced July 30 were:
- At $19.31 per hundredweight (cwt), Class II milk price increased 88 cents from the previous month but $2.51 per cwt less than July 2024.
- The July Class III milk price dropped $1.50 from June to $17.32 per cwt and was $2.47 per cwt below the class price during the same month last year.
- At $18.19 per cwt, the Class IV milk price increased 59 cents from the previous month, yet was $3.12 per cwt lower than July 2024.
The gap between July 2025 Class III and Class IV milk prices was 87 cents with Class IV on top, giving some incentives for depooling of Class IV milk and potentially affecting FMMO pooling.
Butterfat, protein values
The value of butterfat rose for the fourth straight month to $2.84 per pound for July, up 11 cents from June, likely the result of continued demand on the global market. Milk protein stumbled 65 cents from June to $1.87 per pound, the lowest price of 2025 to date.
Compared to June, the July value of nonfat solids was up 3 cents to $1.03 per pound. Other solids were also up from June to July, but just by 1 cent from 29 cents to 30 cents per pound.
Looking ahead
Based on FMMO advanced price and current futures prices, the outlook for August shows slight improvement from July and creating positive momentum with quarter four on the horizon.
The August 2025 advanced Class I base price rose 11 cents per cwt from July for a milk price of $18.93 per cwt. This price reflects the monthly advanced Class IV milk pricing factor ($9.26 per cwt) being the “higher-of” and used as the Class I mover in the milk pricing formula.
August 2025 Class II, III and IV will be announced Sept. 4. As of end of trading July 29, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August Class III milk futures price closed at $17.15 per cwt, down from July’s settled price of $17.29 per cwt. And, the August Class IV milk futures price settled at $18.99 per cwt, up 8 cents from July’s $18.91 per cwt. If Class III-IV futures prices hold, the July Class III-IV milk price gap will be $1.84 per cwt, adding incentives for Class IV depooling.
