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A rally in spot nonfat dry milk has widened the gap between Class IV and Class III futures, with the May 2026 Class IV contract about $5/cwt above the June Class III contract on May 7. Analysts say this is the largest spread on record and is encouraging some Class IV processors to depool.
Depooling could reduce producer milk checks in cheese-centric orders.
The wide Class III and IV spread shifts value toward Class IV milk and may pull milk out of pools, lowering blend prices for some producers and raising costs for Class I processors.
dairyherd.comFran HowardMay 18, 2026Not enough comparable past events yet for a historical read.
Moves of each commodity's benchmark from the last close before the event. Historical reads pool past events of the same kind; they describe what happened, not what will. Not investment advice.
