The March Federal order Class III benchmark milk price started climbing out of its hole and hit $14.22 per hundredweight (cwt.), up 82 cents from February but is $1.59 below March 2017. It is 26 cents above California’s comparable 4b cheese milk price and equates to $1.22 per gallon, up from $1.15 in February and $1.36 a year ago. That put the First Quarter average at $13.87, down from $16.49 at this time a year ago and compares to $13.75 in 2016.
The March Class IV price is $13.04, up 17 cents from February but $1.28 below a year ago. Its First Quarter average stands at $13.01, down from $15.37 a year ago and compares to $13.75 in 2016. Courtesy of Mielke Market Weekly
