Butter Percentage Jumps Ahead of Protein

An article by Corey Geiger on LinkedIn

At a 4.28% gain this May, growth in U.S. butterfat production outpaced the 3.88% improvement in protein. This is the first time butterfat topped protein since last November.

What was the cause?

Butterfat percentages in the U.S. milk supply averaged 4.20% in May 2025 and that number climbed to 4.28% this May for a 0.08% difference.

When it comes to protein, the milk component averaged 3.30% in May 2025 and it climbed to 3.35% in May 2026 for a 0.05% difference.

That 0.05% gain in milk protein was the largest since December when comparing the same time 12 months earlier. On the flip side, the 0.08% gain in butterfat percentages in the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system was even larger and represented largest spread since October 2025 when butterfat improved to 4.31% from the 4.22% level posted in October 2024 for a 0.09% gain.

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