For the sixth consecutive month, the average Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) uniform milk price climbed from the month prior. The year began with an average uniform milk price of $17 per hundredweight (cwt) and reached $21.59 per cwt in June, according to the latest FMMO reports. While the average uniform milk price edged upward 72 cents, individual orders saw mixed prices as those utilizing mostly Class III fell month over month. Producer price differentials (PPDs), however, increased across all orders.

Coyne jenn
Jenn Coyne
Editor / Progressive Dairy

Administrators of the 11 FMMOs reported June prices and pooling data July 9-13. Here’s Progressive Dairy’s monthly review of the numbers to provide additional transparency to your milk check.

Uniform milk prices, PPDs

Regional uniform milk prices are used as a baseline measurement to calculate milk check levels, although they are not an indicator of the specific milk prices received by producers.

For June, uniform milk prices rose in eight of the 11 orders. The Appalachian Order reported the largest gain of $2.03 per cwt for a uniform milk price of $26.05 per cwt, while the Pacific Northwest Order saw the smallest increase of 13 cents per cwt for a uniform milk price of $18.49 per cwt (Table 1). Three FMMOs reported a price decrease in June compared to May with the Upper Midwest Order recording the largest fall of 76 cents per cwt to an order low of $16.85 per cwt in June. The Upper Midwest Order pooled nearly 93% of milk in Class III, a class in which cheese production is rampant across the U.S., but domestic demand remains mediocre, causing prices to lose ground.

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June class prices

Last month, Classes I and II milk prices rose as Classes III and IV stumbled as previously reported:

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  • Class I base price: The advanced Class I base price reached $22.18 per cwt, up $2.03 per cwt from the previous month and also $4.92 per cwt above the same price in June 2025. It is the highest price reported since November 2024.
  • Class I base price zone differentials: Class I zone differentials are added to the base price principal pricing points to determine the actual Class I price in each FMMO. With those additions, June’s Class I price should average $26.30 per cwt with the Florida to be on top with $28.98 per cwt and the Arizona FMMO falling to the bottom with $24.78 per cwt.
  • Class I mover formula: The June Class I base skim milk price was $16.75 per cwt, up from May’s $14.12 per cwt. The spread in the monthly advanced Class III skim milk pricing factor ($11.39 per cwt) and the advanced Class IV skim milk pricing factor ($16.75 per cwt) was an astonishing $5.36 per cwt.
  • Class II: At $22.78 per cwt, the Class II price increased $2.50 per cwt from the previous month and $4.35 per cwt from June 2025.
  • Class III: The June Class III price fell 94 cents to $15.98 per cwt. It was also $2.84 per cwt less than the price announced last year.
  • Class IV: Prices collapsed $1.36 per cwt to $20.96 per cwt in June but remained $2.66 per cwt more than the same month in 2025.

The gap between June Class III and Class IV prices closed some from the record gap noticed in May. This month, the spread between the two classes was $4.98 per cwt, still giving incentives to depool the higher-of Class IV milk from some FMMO pools and potentially lowering the blend price dairy producers may receive in an order. Class III has not been the higher of since January.

Component values, tests

All prices for components – butterfat, protein and nonfat solids – dipped slightly from May to June. The value of butterfat was $1.69 per pound, down 1 cent from the previous month and the smallest price decline of the components. The price of protein in June settled at $2.46 per pound, down from May’s $2.75 per pound. And, the price of nonfat solids shrunk to $1.68 per pound, a 14-cent fall from May.

The price of other solids rose a penny to 39 cents per pound.

Influencing statistical uniform prices “at test,” June’s average butterfat and protein tests in pooled milk were mostly down from the previous month in FMMOs providing preliminary data. The one exception was in the Mideast Order, where the protein test was up 0.28%. Also, somatic cell counts in the few FMMOs reporting monthly averages were up 13,000 to 18,000 cells per milliliter from the previous month’s data.

Pooling totals

June’s total milk pooled through the 11 FMMOs was down to 12.48 billion pounds, retreating to levels last realized in March. On a percentage basis, pooling volumes were unchanged from May to June.

However, throughout the orders, more than half of the pooled milk made it into the Class III market at 56.8%, or 7.08 billion pounds (Table 2). Milk pooling in Class IV was a slim 6.3% of the total, or 789 million pounds. Class I represented 25% of the pooled milk at 3.12 billion pounds, and Class II represented nearly 12% at 1.48 billion pounds of milk.


Looking ahead

It is anticipated that July regional uniform milk prices will dip as markets seek balance between classes, as well as between demand and processing output. While depressed prices are expected, experts have not issued a warning for long-term price concerns.

  • Class I base price: After four consecutive months of prices climbing, the advanced Class I base price dipped 85 cents to $21.33 per cwt.
  • Class I base price zone differentials: Class I zone differentials are added to the base price principal pricing points to determine the actual Class I price in each FMMO. With those additions, July's Class I prices should average $25.45 per cwt across all orders with the highest price reported in the Florida FMMO at $28.13 per cwt and the lowest price in the Arizona FMMO at $23.93 per cwt.
  • Class I mover formula: The July Class I base skim milk price was $15.91 per cwt, down from June’s $16.75 per cwt. The spread in the monthly advanced Class III skim milk pricing factor ($10.72 per cwt) and the advanced Class IV skim milk pricing factor ($15.91 per cwt) was $5.19 per cwt, retreating from June’s high of $5.36 per cwt.
  • Other class prices: July class and component prices will be announced Aug. 5. As of trading July 14, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) July Class III milk futures price settled at $15.76 per cwt, and the Class IV milk futures price settled at $18.40 per cwt. If these futures prices are realized, Class IV would still remain on top to give incentives for depooling even as the gap between Class III and Class IV narrows.

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