Ironically, while cash block cheese set a new record high the first week of June Dairy Month, the Agriculture Department announced the May Federal order benchmark milk price Wednesday, which fell to its lowest level since September 2009.
The COVID-incited plunge in farm gate milk price hit bottom at $12.14 per hundredweight, down 93 cents from April and $4.24 below May 2019. That pulled the 2020 Class III average to $15.10, up from $15.05 at this time a year ago and $14.25 in 2018.
Class III futures settlements Wednesday portended a rebound in June to $19.83, with July at $18.68; August, $17.36; September, $17.02; October, $16.86; November, $16.66; and December at 16.42.
The May Class IV price is $10.67, down 73 cents from April, $5.62 below a year ago, and the lowest Class IV price since August 2009. The Class IV average stands at $13.96, down from $15.81 a year ago and compares to $13.42 in 2018.
Courtesy: Mielke Market Weekly
