Milk prices rise for fourth consecutive month
Article by Progressive Dairy, Jenn Coyne
The USDA’s Announcement of Class and Component Prices report for April confirmed the good news buzzing throughout the dairy industry, with prices rising in Class II, III and IV for the fourth straight month in 2026. April’s Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) pooling esti‐ mates, uniform prices and producer price differentials (PPDs) will be released May 11-14. for an update. As previously announced, the FMMO advanced Class I base price was boosted in April. The price per hundredweight (cwt) increased $3.19 from March for a price of $18.66 per cwt. For the first time all year, the price difference from 2025 was less than $1. The April Class I base price was only 91 cents below the price reported in the same month last year. Announced April 29, April FMMO Class II, III and IV prices rose to the highest levels reached yet this year.
April class prices
Other class prices announced April 29 were: At $18.82 per cwt, the Class II price increased $1.48 per cwt from the previous month but was 40 cents below the Class II price in April 2025. The April Class III price climbed 66 cents from March to $16.82 per cwt. It remained 66 cents per less than the price recorded the same month a year ago. Class IV prices reached $20.22 per cwt in April, $1.28 higher than March’s Class IV price and $2.30 per cwt more than April a year ago. The gap between April Class III and Class IV milk prices was $3.40 per cwt with incentives for depooling of the higher-priced Class IV milk from some FMMO pools. The last time the gap was this great where Class IV was the “higher of” was in April 2024.
Component values are mixed
In April Butterfat and protein values were mixed in April as butterfat prices fell from $2.02 per pound in March to $1.87 per pound, and protein prices rose more than 40 cents to $2.52 per pound in April. Looking back to April 2025, the prices were the exact opposite, with butterfat higher at $2.64 per pound and protein lower at $2.17 per pound. The April value of nonfat solids rose 20 cents from $1.32 per pound in March to $1.52 per pound this month. The price of other solids once again fell, down 3 cents to 39 cents per pound.
Looking ahead
Based on FMMO advanced prices and current futures prices, the outlook for May regional uniform milk prices appears strong. As announced previously, the May advanced Class I base price surpassed $20 per cwt in May. The price per cwt reached $20.15 per cwt, up $1.49 per cwt from April and up $1.78 per cwt from May of last year. May’s price was influenced by the strong market conditions seen in Class IV, as nonfat dry milk prices rally to record levels. May Class II, III and IV prices will be announced June 3. As of trading April 28, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) May Class III milk futures (https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/agriculture/dairy/class-iiimilk.settlements.html#tradeDate=03%2F03%2F2025) price settled at $16.85 per cwt while the May Class IV milk futures (https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/agriculture/dairy/class-iv-milk.set‐ tlements.html) price closed at $20.20 per cwt. If the Class III-IV prices remain, the May Class III-IV milk price gap will be $3.35 per cwt, adding incentive for Class IV depooling.