The Latest: February - 2026
Product Scarcity Driving the Milk Powder Market
Product scarcity seems to be driving the gains in the milk powder market as buyers seeking product are coming up empty-handed. According to USDA’s Dairy Products report, combined output of NDM and skim milk powder (SMP) was just 170.3 million pounds in December, down 6.2% compared to the same month last year. NDM prices have been climbing since January, but the trajectory accelerated meaningfully this week. After taking a brief respite on Monday, the spot price for NDM rose every day between Tuesday and Friday, delivering an 18¢ increase, and qualifying as the commodity’s strongest week since May 2007.
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Some dairy producers are partially shielded from higher feed expenses through a combination of inventories, contracts, and farming. Many have been battered by low Class IV values and widespread depooling, and are now being clobbered by immense feed bills. They are reeling.
View reportThe U.S. dairy industry has expanded cheese processing capacity noticeably, and it shows. The flush has accelerated and, according to USDA’s Dairy Market News, cheese makers are “busy.”
View reportThe bulls continued their leisurely stroll through the dairy pits this week and the milk markets moved higher.
View reportSpring is here. Tankers are lining up at milk powder plants around the nation. A shortage of trucks and drivers is complicating the annual rush to move milk from regions with surplus to regions with spare balancing capacity. Milk powder demand remains strong as whey futures reached 14-year highs early in the week but then retreated.
View reportUSDA announced that it would end the Farmers to Families Food Box program after May, squelching hopes surrounding the government spending that propelled the cheese and Class III markets to unsustainable heights in 2020.
View reportNearly all products gained ground at the CME spot market with the exception of Whey. The other spot dairy products moved decisively upward.
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