Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - USDA Raises Milk Prices

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Milk futures closed the week on a strong note. Class IV futures outpaced Class III, fueled by another strong increase in the nonfat dry milk price. USDA increased its estimates for milk prices this year.

MILK:

The May and June Class IV contract moved above $21.00 again after falling back from that level two weeks ago. The strength came from nonfat dry milk. The strong increase in the Grade A nonfat dry milk price this week was similar to the gains seen in late January and early February. Milk production is increasing seasonally as the spring flush unfolds. USDA released the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report on Thursday. They increased their estimate for milk production this year to 235.3 billion pounds, up 600 million pounds from the March estimate. The average Class III milk price was raised by $0.25 per cwt to $16.90. The average Class IV price was raised $1.45 per cwt to $18.60. The average All-milk price was raised $0.80 per cwt to $20.50. If realized, the Class III price would be $1.11 below last year. The Class IV price would be $1.22 higher than last year. The All-milk price would be $0.67 below 2025. Health officials confirmed two new cases of bovine tuberculosis in cattle herds in Alpena and Presque Isle counties in Michigan. A herd in Charlevoix County had previously tested positive in February 2026.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$17.36
6 Month:	$17.98
9 Month:	$18.18
12 Month:	$18.01

CHEESE:

For the week, blocks declined 9.50 cents with 13 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.6080. Barrels declined 1.75 cents with one load traded. The weekly average price is $1.5840. Dry whey increased 1.75 cents with one load traded. The weekly average price is 69.70 cents. The USDA increased its estimate for the average cheese price this year to $1.6450, up 3.00 cents from the March estimate. The dry whey price estimate remained at 66.00 cents. If realized, the cheese price would be $0.14 below the average price of 2025. The dry whey price would be 6.50 cents above that of 2025

BUTTER:

For the week, butter decreased 4.25 cents with 94 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.7425. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 14.25 cents with 16 loads traded. The weekly average price is $2.2095. The average price estimate for butter this year was reduced by 5.50 cents for the March estimate to $1.8150. The average nonfat dry milk price was raised by 18.50 cents to $1.5750. If realized, butter would be 40.50 cents below last year. The nonfat dry milk price would be 34.00 cents above 2025.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

May corn closed down 3.00 cents per bushel at $4.4100, May soybeans closed up 10.50 cents at $11.7575, and May soybean meal closed up $14.20 per ton at $331.80. May Chicago wheat closed down 3.50 cents at $5.7100. June live cattle closed up $2.00 at $249.20. May crude oil is down $2.34 per barrel at $95.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 269 points at 47,917, with the NASDAQ up 80 points at 22,903.

Friday Midday Dairy Market Update - Nonfat Dry Milk Finds No Price Resistance

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	2 Lower
SOYBEANS:	13 Higher
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$6.80 Higher
LIVE CATTLE:	$1.82 Higher
DOW JONES:	295 Points Lower
NASDAQ:	48 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$0.40 Higher

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price increased 2.50 cents to close at $1.5775 with three loads traded. The barrel cheese price increased 0.25 cent, closing at $1.5750. The dry whey price increased 0.50 cent to close spot trading at 70.50 cents with no loads traded. Class III futures are 1 cent lower to 30 cents higher. The butter price increased as penny to close at $1.7475 with 10 loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk gained 5.50 cents to close at $2.1150 with seven loads traded. There is no slowing down the demand for nonfat dry milk. Record highs are being made daily. Class IV futures are 15-75 cents higher. Butter futures are 0.12 cent lower to 4.25 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 0.20-1.00 cents higher. Cheese futures are 0.70-3.20 cents higher.

Friday Morning Dairy Market Update - Short-Covering Expected Ahead of Weekend

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	2 to 5 Higher
Class IV Milk Futures:	8 to 15 Higher
Butter Futures:	1 to 2 Higher

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	Steady to 1 Lower
Soybean Futures:	1 to 2 Higher
Soybean Meal Futures:	$3 to $5 Higher
Wheat Futures:	3 to 5 Lower

MILK:

USDA increased milk production again in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand report Thursday. They increased the estimated milk output to reach 235.3 billion pounds. This is an increase of 600 million pounds from their March estimate. If this comes to fruition, it will be an increase of 3.6 billion pounds above 2025. But even with this increase, the all-milk price was raised by $0.80 per cwt to average $20.50. This would be $0.67 per cwt below 2025. We know overall exports have been strong and are expected to remain that way, but domestic demand will need to improve to realize higher milk prices.

CHEESE:

Cheese prices may remain under pressure. The decline in the block cheese of $0.12 the past two days has changed market sentiment. The uptrend has been negated for now, and buyers have stepped back as sellers have become aggressive. This may result in further weakness and follow a similar pattern to butter.

BUTTER:

The slight increase in the butter price on Thursday does not indicate support has been found. Buyers were more aggressive as they wanted to take advantage of the lower price to increase ownership. Butter output remains strong, but slightly lower than it has been due to an increase in cream demand from other Class II products. The cream supply remains sufficient for demand.