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.
