Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - All-milk Price Increased in April to $20.80

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

Class IV futures closed the week with strength. Class III futures struggled into the close. Butter had a very good week with a substantial jump in price and a large volume of loads traded. The April Agricultural Prices report showed a significant increase in the All-milk price from March.

MILK:

Class III futures increased substantially over the past three days due to the strength this week in the butter price. Now that the nonfat dry milk price has shown weakness, butter has taken over to support Class IV prices. The price spread between Class III and Class IV futures widened significantly this week. The April Agricultural Prices report was released. The average corn price was $4.31 per bushel, up $0.04 from March and down $0.31 per bushel from April 2025. The premium/supreme hay price was $234.00 per ton, up $4.00 from March and down $18.00 per ton from April 2025. The All-milk price was

$20.80 per cwt. This was $1.10 higher than March, but $0.30 per cwt lower than a year ago. Th average soybean meal price will be released on Monday to provide the last price needed to calculate income over feed for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. Other prices of interest are the soybean price of $11.20 per bushel, up $0.110 from March and $1.00 per bushel higher than a year ago. The average alfalfa hay price was $185.00 per ton, up $19.00 per ton from March and $5.00 per ton higher than a year ago. The average price for dairy cows was $3,130.00 compared to $2,860.00 per cow in April 2025. The average butterfat test was 4.34 compared to 4.39 in March and 4.32 in April 2025.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:

3 Month:	$16.61
6 Month:	$17.21
9 Month:	$17.46
12 Month:	$17.48

CHEESE:

For the week, blocks declined 3.00 cents with 22 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4881. Barrels decline 4.00 cents with 2 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.4475. Dry whey increased 2.00 cents with 7 loads traded. The weekly average price is 69.13 cents.

BUTTER:

For the week, butter increased 13.25 cents with 104 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.6206. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 1.75 cents with 37 loads traded. The weekly average price is $2.0775.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

July corn closed down 9.00 cents per bushel at $4.4675, July soybeans closed down 7.75 cents at $11.8675, and July soybean meal closed down $4.30 per ton at $329.80. July Chicago wheat closed down 13.50 cents at $6.1050. August live cattle closed down $1.95 at $239.05. July crude oil is down $1.54 per barrel at $87.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 363 points at 51,032, with the NASDAQ up 55 points at 26,973.

Friday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Butter Shows Further Strength

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	10 Lower
SOYBEANS:	11 Lower
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$4.20 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$1.30 Lower
DOW JONES:	303 Points higher
NASDAQ:	36 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$2.09 Lower

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

The block cheese price declined 1.25 cents to close at $1.4750 with 4 loads traded. The barrel cheese price remained unchanged at $1.44 with no loads traded. The dry whey price gained 1.00 cents to close at 70.00 cents with 3 loads traded. Class III futures are under pressure, with contracts steady to 16 cents lower. The butter price gained 3.25 cents to close at $1.6675 with 24 loads traded. There were 20 unfilled bids and 27 uncovered offers remaining at the close of spot trading. The price initially increased to $1.7050 but was unable to hold that level due to increased selling pressure at the higher prices. Grade A nonfat dry milk increased 0.50 cent to close at $2.09 with one load traded. Class IV futures are 6 cents lower to 40 cents higher. Butter futures are 1.60 -- 4.75 cents higher. Dry whey futures are 0.50 cent lower to 0.30 cent higher. Cheese futures are 1.30 cents lower to 0.20 cent higher. The April Agricultural Prices report will be released today.

Friday Morning Dairy Market Update - Spot Prices to Remain Choppy

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	Mixed
Class IV Milk Futures:	5 to 10 Higher
Butter Futures:	1 to 2 Higher

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	1 to 2 Lower
Soybean Futures:	4 to 5 Higher
Soybean Meal Futures:	Steady to $1 Lower
Wheat Futures:	1 to 2 Lower

MILK:

There is not much change in the direction of milk futures Friday. It is unlikely Class III futures will find strong buying interest. If the spot cheese price increases, traders will be skeptical of the gain. The supply of cheese is sufficient to meet demand, with strong output continuing. Class IV futures may post further gains depending on the butter price. Milk production remains strong and, so far, has not been negatively impacted by the weather. The USDA will release the April Agricultural Prices report Friday. This provides average prices for the month on a wide array of agricultural products. The report contains most of the prices used to calculate income over feed for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. The average soybean meal price is not in the report and will be released by the FSA on Monday.

CHEESE:

There is little expectation for cheese prices to increase. If they do, there may be limited upside potential. Buyers are complacent with expectations that supplies will remain readily available. Manufacturers continue to move cheese to the spot market to keep inventory from building at the plant level.

BUTTER:

The amount of uncovered offers remaining at the close of spot trading Thursday suggests there will be limited upside potential for the price. However, buyers purchased quite a few loads on Thursday, and the price increased. The same could take place Friday.