Dairy producers’ September milk checks could be the strongest in almost two years, based on a preview of Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) milk class prices. Announced on Oct. 2, all FMMO Class II, III and IV milk class prices were up slightly compared to a month earlier, with the Class III milk price taking the largest jump.
September 2024 FMMO pooling estimates, uniform prices and producer price differentials (PPDs) will be released on Oct. 11-14 and summarized on Oct. 15. Watch Progressive Dairy’s website for an update.
September class prices
Class prices announced on Oct. 2 were:
- At $22.40 per hundredweight (cwt), the September Class II milk price is up 35 cents from August and $2.42 more than September 2023. It’s the highest since December 2022.
- The September Class III milk price jumped $2.63 from August to $23.34 per cwt. That's up $4.95 from September 2023 and the highest since June 2022.
- At $22.29 per cwt, the September 2024 Class IV milk price is up 71 cents from August and is $3.20 more than September 2023. It’s the highest since November 2022.
Potentially affecting FMMO pooling, the September 2024 Class III milk price is $1.05 more than the month’s Class IV milk price, the first reversal since April 2023.
Supporting blend price strength, the September advanced Class I base price was previously announced at $21.60 per cwt, up 28 cents from August 2024 and $2.70 more than a year earlier. It’s the highest Class I base price since January 2023.
Butterfat, protein and solids values higher
Contributing to the September milk class price calculations, value changes for butterfat and protein were both up from a month earlier.
The value of butterfat rose about a nickel from August to about $3.61 per pound. The value of milk protein jumped almost 75 cents, to more than $2.92 per pound, the highest since June 2022.
The value of nonfat solids was up more than 6 cents at $1.11 per pound, while the value of other solids rose about 5 cents, to 34.3 cents per pound.
Looking ahead
Based on FMMO advanced prices and current futures prices, the outlooks for October regional uniform milk prices are mixed.
Already announced, the October 2024 advanced Class I base price is $23.17 per cwt, up $1.57 from September 2024 and $3.70 more than a year ago. It’s again the highest Class I base price since November 2022.
October Class II, III and IV milk prices will be announced Oct. 30. As of trading on Oct. 2, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Class III milk futures price closed at $22.97 per cwt for October, down 37 cents from the September price. The October Class IV milk futures price closed at $21.30 per cwt, down 99 cents from September.
If Class III-IV futures prices hold, the October Class III-IV milk price gap will rise to $1.67 cents, giving some incentive for Class III depooling.
