🥛 MILK & DAIRY DASHBOARD
Class III/IV • Cheese • Butter • DMC Margins • Feed Costs • Global Trade
🧀 DAIRY PRODUCT FUTURES
−🥛 Class III Milk (DC)
Cheese milk pricing. Most actively traded dairy contract. Settles based on cheese, whey, and butterfat values.
View Class III Chart →🥛 Class IV Milk (DK)
Butter/powder milk pricing. Used for butter, nonfat dry milk. Often lower than Class III.
View Class IV Chart →🧀 Cheese (CSC)
CME cheese futures. Cash cheese prices drive Class III settlement. 40-lb blocks & 500-lb barrels.
View Cheese Chart →🧈 Butter (CB)
CME butter futures. Grade AA butter. Strong domestic + export demand. Seasonal holiday peaks.
View Butter Chart →🥛 Nonfat Dry Milk (GNF)
Powder/NFDM futures. Key export product. Global price discovery via GDT auctions.
View NFDM Chart →🥄 Dry Whey
Whey protein pricing. Byproduct of cheese. Used in infant formula, sports nutrition.
USDA Whey Prices →📈 PRICES & CHARTS
−🛡️ DMC MARGINS
−Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC)
Milk Price − Feed Cost = Margin
USDA program pays when margin falls below coverage level ($4.00-$9.50/cwt). Feed cost = (corn price × 1.0728) + (soybean meal × 0.00735) + (alfalfa hay × 0.0137).
🌽 FEED COSTS
−Feed = 50-60% of milk production cost. Track corn (energy), soybean meal (protein), and hay prices to monitor margins.
📊 USDA REPORTS
−💵 CASH MARKETS
−CME Spot Call: Daily cash trading at 12:00pm CT for cheese (blocks & barrels), butter, NFDM, and whey. These prices drive futures settlement.
🌍 GLOBAL DAIRY TRADE
−GDT Auctions: Twice-monthly (1st & 3rd Tuesday) auction for whole milk powder, skim milk powder, butter, cheese. New Zealand (Fonterra) dominates. Sets global benchmark.
🐄 US MILK PRODUCTION
−📅 SEASONAL PATTERNS
−Milk Production Cycle
- Spring (Mar-May): Peak production - "spring flush"
- Summer (Jun-Aug): Heat stress reduces output
- Fall (Sep-Nov): Recovery, holiday demand builds
- Winter (Dec-Feb): Lower production, school milk demand
Cheese & Butter Demand
- Oct-Nov: Holiday butter buying → price spike
- Jan-Feb: Super Bowl cheese demand
- Summer: Grilling season, cheese demand steady
🏢 INDUSTRY RESOURCES
−🧮 TOOLS & CALCULATORS
−🔗 RELATED MARKETS
−📋 CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS
−Class III Milk (DC)
Exchange: CME
Size: 200,000 lbs
Quote: $/cwt
Tick: $0.01 = $20
Months: All 12
Cheese (CSC)
Exchange: CME
Size: 20,000 lbs
Quote: $/lb
Tick: $0.001 = $20
Months: All 12
Butter (CB)
Exchange: CME
Size: 20,000 lbs
Quote: $/lb
Tick: $0.00025 = $5
Months: All 12
NFDM (GNF)
Exchange: CME
Size: 44,000 lbs
Quote: $/lb
Tick: $0.00025 = $11
Months: All 12