Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) regional uniform milk prices continued to fall in November, in many cases hitting multiyear lows. Across all orders, uniform prices declined an average of 98 cents per hundredweight (cwt) compared to October, with declines of $1 or more per cwt in five of 11 FMMOs.

Dairy producers should anticipate smaller milk checks this month, based on a preview of Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) milk class prices.

Following the announcement of the federal government shutdown, Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) released their individual reports on September FMMO Class and Component Prices Oct. 1. The reports indicated another month of sinking prices in Class II and Class IV with the latter taking the biggest hit, down $2.33 per hundredweight (cwt) from August at $16.17 per cwt.

Following a mixed bag of milk prices in July, the August Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class and Component Prices report released Sept. 4 indicates milk prices declined for Classes II, III and IV, with Class IV showing the largest drop of 39 cents per hundredweight (cwt) due to butter and nonfat dry milk prices also coming down.

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. 

Following the implementation of Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) revisions, the prices per hundredweight (cwt) of milk sold into the Class III and Class IV markets are expected to rise in June.