Where are Producer Milk Prices Going?

Some recent articles show some confusion between cream, butterfat, butter, and buttermilk.  See this prior post. Soft (liquid) dairy products like coffee cream are included in Class II milk.  These products include some butterfat and some milk.  Products like cream cheese are included in Class III milk as a solid cheese.  Buttermilk is a fluid […]

Cream to Butter – An Explanation

Some recent articles show some confusion between cream, butterfat, butter, and buttermilk.  See this prior post. Soft (liquid) dairy products like coffee cream are included in Class II milk.  These products include some butterfat and some milk.  Products like cream cheese are included in Class III milk as a solid cheese.  Buttermilk is a fluid […]

Is Milk per Cow Growing?

Milk per cow is a parameter to follow. It can lower the cost of milk for producers and the dairy community.  Historically, this parameter has grown.  Currently, the pace of growth has slowed.  This post will show the status of all 24 states reporting this information and how the largest milk producing states are doing. […]

Are Milk Components Still Growing?

Higher levels of butterfat and milk protein increase producer revenue and help meet the dairy domestic consumption with fewer cows.  The increase of these components has been steady.  Are they reaching a limit?  Is the growth slowing?  This post will cover the changes in the first quarter of 2025. Overall, the growth continues to be […]

Do We Really Have a Glut of Cream?

A recent article has stated that we have a “glut of cream” and need to expand butter exports.  Data from reliable sources indicates the opposite.  Domestic demand for butter shows no weakness, wholesale inventories of butter are low, we are importing butter to meet demand, and exports are low due to a lack of inventory. […]

Payments from Federal Orders Vary

Most of the U.S. producer milk is paid based on the Federal Order standards. Below is a table with the prices paid in each Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) in 2023 and 2024.  They are ranked based on their 2024 Uniform (average) payment per cwt.  Florida has the highest paid producer milk.  The two biggest […]

INFLATION!

This post will cover a subject not typically covered in documents related to milk producers.  But dairy products consumer demand can impact producer milk prices.  Food inflation is often mentioned as a U.S. problem.  This post will follow inflation for total consumer purchases, food purchases, and specifically for dairy products including Cheddar cheese, processed cheese, […]

Is it Easy to Run a Dairy Financially?

In October 2023, butterfat hit a record high of $3.71 per pound and producers average milk revenue was $19.67 per cwt. for Class III and $24.37 per cwt for Class IV. In January 2025, butterfat was down to $2.95 per pound, and producers’ average milk revenue was $24.10 per cwt. for Class III and $24.09 […]

Changes in Producer Revenue

In June, the new USDA dairy milk formulas for pricing producer milk will be implemented.  When that happens, financial comparisons to past milk Class prices will not be compatible with historic prices.  (See this post for details.)  For that reason, future posts in “MilkPay.com“ will focus on component prices.  With the new USDA component prices, […]

About John Geuss

John Geuss, MilkPrice Blog Writer BIOGRAPHY Education Ohio State University – B.S. in Engineering and MBA Work Experience Eastman Kodak – Financial Analyst Borden 22 years – Vice President – Engineering, Plant and Operations Management Adisseo 22 years – Director – IT and Marketing Currently Working as a Consultant in Dairy and Food Processing Certifications […]