The Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) regional uniform milk prices slipped in August from July with all 11 orders reflecting a small month-over-month decline. Administrators of the 11 FMMOs reported August prices and pooling data Sept. 11-14. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s monthly review of the numbers to provide some additional transparency to your milk check.

Coyne jenn
Jenn Coyne
Editor / Progressive Dairy

Uniform milk prices, PPDs

Statistically, uniform milk prices stumbled in all 11 FMMOs from July to August with the average milk price reflecting a 20-cent decrease month over month (Table 1). The average FMMO uniform milk price came in at $20.28 per hundredweight (cwt).

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In reviewing individual orders for August, the top uniform milk price was $24.11 per cwt in the Florida FMMO, yet down 27 cents from July. The Southeast FMMO was the second highest at $23.55 per cwt. The FMMO with the lowest uniform milk price was the Upper Midwest at $17.82 per cwt, down 13 cents from the month prior. For the second consecutive month, the California FMMO came in just behind the Upper Midwest FMMO with a uniform milk price of $18.61 per cwt due to the two orders’ strong pooling of Class III and the current market for cheese, both domestically and abroad.

Comparing producer price differentials (PPDs) in August to July, all were down with the exception of the Pacific Northwest FMMO, which rose $1.41 per cwt (Table 1). PPDs have zone differentials, meaning some PPDs could be negative, and milk handlers may also apply PPDs and other “market adjustment factors” differently to the milk check.

Class prices for August

Milk prices in August all fall from July prices:

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  • Class I base price: The FMMO advanced Class I base price rose 11 cents per cwt from July to August for a price of $18.93 per cwt. August’s price remained $2.39 per cwt lower than the same month a year prior.
  • Class I base price with zone differentials: August’s Class I milk prices will average about $23.05 per cwt across all FMMOs with the lowest in the Arizona FMMO at $21.53 per cwt.
  • Class I mover formula: August’s base skim milk price for Class I was $9.26 per cwt, 40 cents lower from the previous month. The spread in the monthly advanced Class III skim milk pricing factor ($7.45 per cwt) and advanced Class IV skim milk pricing factor ($9.26 per cwt) was $1.81 per cwt, the largest difference since January 2025.
  • Class II: At $19.18 per cwt, the Class II milk price decreased 13 cents from the previous month and was $2.87 per cwt less than August 2024.
  • Class III: The August Class III milk price fell just 8 cents in August to $17.24 per cwt but was a staggering $3.42 per cwt lower than the same month last year.
  • Class IV: At $18.50 per cwt, the Class IV milk price dropped 39 cents from the previous month and was $3.08 per cwt less than August 2024.

Component values, tests

For the first time since February, butterfat prices fell in August due to a surplus of product despite a very strong export market. The month’s price was $2.73 per pound, down 11 cents from July and the same price that was seen in June. Milk protein regained some ground as August’s price rose 9 cents from the previous month to $1.96 per pound.

The August value of nonfat solids was unchanged from July at $1.03 per pound. Other solids were up 1 cent from July to August at 32 cents per pound.

Influencing statistical uniform prices “at test,” August’s average butterfat and protein tests in pooled milk were once again lower in all reporting FMMOs which provide preliminary data. The smallest decline was 7 cents per cwt in both the California and Pacific Northwest FMMOs, and the largest was recorded in the Central order at 13 cents per cwt. Somatic cell counts in the few FMMOs reporting monthly averages were less in August compared to July. 

Pooling totals

The USDA releases preliminary August milk production estimates Sept. 22. Current pooled milk volumes based on the most recent FMMO reports show that in Classes II and III volumes increased from July to August. Pooled volumes decreased in Classes I and IV over the same time period. The total milk volume pooled through FMMOs in August was 13.055 billion pounds, 656.5 million pounds more than the month prior. 

Pooling totals increased modestly in Class II and Class III at 0.6% (158.5 million pounds) and 0.4% (399 million pounds), respectively. With the nearly half-percent increase, Class III remained the largest pooling class, representing 53.4% (6.977 billion pounds) of all milk pooled in August (Table 2). Class IV pooling totals represented 8.2% (1.074 billion pounds) of all milk pooled during the month, down 0.6% from July. August Class I pooling was down 0.4% (113 million pounds) from July to 3.285 billion pounds of milk and representing 25.2% of all milk pooled during the month.


Looking ahead

September uniform milk prices and pooling totals will be announced Oct. 11-14. Based on FMMO advanced prices, the milk price may struggle some as the industry heads into fall.

  • Class I base price: FMMO advanced Class I base price dropped 23 cents per cwt from August to September for a price of $18.70 per cwt. It also fell in comparison to the same month last year where the Class I base price was $21.60 per cwt.
  • Class I mover formula: September’s Class I prices should average about $22.82 per cwt across all FMMOs. The highest price is in the Florida FMMO at $25.50 per cwt and the lowest is in the Arizona FMMO at $21.30 per cwt.
  • Other class prices: September Class II, III and IV milk prices will be announced Oct. 1. As of the end-of-trading Aug. 12, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) September Class III milk futures prices settled at $17.59 per cwt, and the Class IV milk futures settled at $16.84 per cwt. If these prices hold, the September Class III-IV milk price gap will be 75 cents per cwt with Class III on top.

Other information

Also, check the Progressive Dairy website later this month for milk production, cull cow marketing, risk management and DMC program margin updates.