The Latest: May - 2026
Nonfat Dry Milk is the Belle of the Dairy Ball
Nonfat dry milk (NDM) rose to fresh record highs this week. On Thursday, the spot price hit an all-time peak of $2.295/lb. though the price dipped a half cent on the final day of trading. By the conclusion of Friday’s spot session, NDM was up 2.75¢ from last week. While elevated NDM price levels have provided an encouraging lift to Class IV milk prices, they have also made U.S. milk powder uncompetitive compared to other international suppliers and have severely limited the opportunity for U.S. manufacturers and traders to mint new export deals.
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The 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.
View reportWith milk production expected to stay strong, dairy product production will continue to be robust. This aggressive production threatens to overhang the market unless demand can demonstrate a meaningful and sustained expansion.
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