• February FMMO milk class prices back to 2021 levels
• Global dairy product prices declined in February
• Dairy margins ended February modestly higher
• RaboResearch: The dairy squeeze is on

Milk produced and marketed in the 11 states in the southeastern U.S. is pooled on the Appalachian, Southeast and Florida Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs).

Class IV pooling across all FMMOs represented about 7% of the total milk pooled. It was the ninth month so far in 2022 that Class IV pooling was below 10% of total milk pooled.

The spread between Class IV and Class III milk prices continues to decline, suggesting a reduction in Class IV depooling – but maybe not yet.

The widening gap in August Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class IV and Class III milk prices pushed Class IV pooling lower.

A widening gap in August Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class IV and Class milk prices ensures there’s even more incentive to depool Class IV milk.

Recent news of negative producer price differentials (PPDs) has resulted in massive depooling of milk from Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs). This depooling, and not the negative PPDs that led to it, is the real threat to dairy farm income.