GENERAL OVERVIEW:
It was another negative day for milk futures, with Class IV contracts posting greater losses than Class III. The April Milk Production report was bearish. Milk production was up 2.7 percent, with cow numbers up 10,000 head.
MILK:
The June Class IV futures contract fell around $1.30 over the past four days as the bottom fell out of Grade A nonfat dry milk, and butter showed further weakness. The July contract fell nearly $1.50. It will be difficult for the market to recover from this. Continued weakness is expected in the nonfat dry milk price. The April Milk Production report was released, and it was bearish for the market. Milk production in the top 24 states was 2.8 percent above April 2026 and was the same increase as the March report from the previous year, after the revision. Milk production per cow was 3 pounds more, averaging 2,082 pounds. Cow numbers increased by 12,000 head from March. Milk production in the U.S. was 2.7 percent above a year ago. Milk production per cow averaged 2,069 pounds, up 14 pounds from a year ago. Cow numbers increased by 10,000 head from March and 190,000 head more than in April 2025. The total number of cows in the nation's dairy herd is 9.645 million head. The growth in cow numbers and the increase in milk production is not slowing down.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $16.71 |
| 6 Month: | $17.30 |
| 9 Month: | $17.54 |
| 12 Month: | $17.58 |
CHEESE:
For the week, blocks declined 5.00 cents with 47 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5405. Barels declined 7.50 cents with 2 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5090. Dry whey declined 0.50 cent with 2 loads traded. The weekly average price is 68.60 per pound. The block cheese moved to the lowest level since February 20th. The barrel cheese price moved to the lowest level since February 19th.
BUTTER:
For the week, butter declined 10.50 cents with 118 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.5700. Grade A nonfat dry milk fell 20.00 cents with 26 loads traded. The weekly average price is $2.18. Butter has moved to the lowest price since January 29th. Grade A nonfat dry milk is at the lowest price since April 9th.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
July corn closed up 1.00 cent per bushel at $4.6325, July soybeans closed up 2.25 cents at $11.9650, and July soybean meal closed up $3.50 per ton at $331.90. July Chicago wheat closed down 1.25 cents at $6.4625. August live cattle closed up $0.25 at $239.60. July crude oil is up $0.50 per barrel at $96.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 294 points at 50,580, with the NASDAQ up 51 points at 26,344.
