The Agriculture Department announced the July Federal order Class III benchmark milk price at $16.49 per hundredweight, down 72 cents from June and $8.05 below the artificially inflated price a year ago when Uncle Sam’s Food Box program was buying lots of cheese. Last year’s price was the second highest Class III ever, at $24.54, just 6 cents shy of the record high set in September 2014.
The seven month Class III average stands at $16.90, down from $17.30 at this time a year ago and compares to $15.58 in 2019.
The July Class IV price is $16.00, down 35 cents from June but $2.24 above a year ago. Its seven month average is at $15.01, up from $13.78 a year ago, and compares to $16.11 in 2019. Courtesy of the Mielke Market Weekly