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Since June 2025, only the block cheddar price, not the barrel cheddar price, has been used to set the protein value in the Class III milk price. Buyers and sellers have also shifted barrel contracts for 2025 and 2026 to price off the daily CME block price.
Block and barrel prices have since varied by only 0.3 cents, compared with an average of 10.3 cents over 2019 to 2024.
The reformed formula changes how U.S. milk protein is valued, which affects the Class III milk price that dairy producers and feed buyers track. Barrel pricing now following block prices reduces the price volatility that barrel cheese previously added to milk prices.
cheesereporter.comOct 31, 2025After 93 past neutral policy events, Milk (Class III) moved a median -0.0% over 5 sessions (48% higher; middle half -0.6% to +0.6%), and +0.2% over 20.
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.
