# Dry Whey In Class III Formula Remains Problematic - Cheese Reporter

> A Cheese Reporter commentary argues that dry whey should be removed from the Class III milk price formula, as it has been above 70 cents per pound for about a month. It notes U.S. dry whey output has fallen to 938 million pounds in 2023 from 1.15 billion in 1999, with October 2024 production the lowest for that month since 1981.

- Date: 2024-12-20 · published 2024-12-20T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: policy · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/27113-dry-whey-in-class-iii-formula-remains-problematic-cheese-reporter
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Because dry whey inflates the Class III price when it is high, the formula is sensitive to tight whey supplies. Any change to the formula would alter how producers are paid when whey rallies.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2022-03-11 | [Rationale Builds for Milk Price Reforms - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42417-rationale-builds-for-milk-price-reforms-cheese-reporter.md) | -0.1% | +7.6% |
| MILK | 2020-10-02 | [A Processor Perspective On Price Reforms - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6552-a-processor-perspective-on-price-reforms-cheese-reporter.md) | +3.1% | +7.9% |
| MILK | 2025-10-31 | [The New Landscape for Barrels - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22568-the-new-landscape-for-barrels-cheese-reporter.md) | +1.7% | +1.7% |
| MILK | 2021-05-06 | [Dairy farmer groups propose  Class III Plus for better milk pricing](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47240-dairy-farmer-groups-propose-class-iii-plus-for-better-milk-pricing.md) | -0.4% | -9.6% |
| MILK | 2021-09-22 | [Changing market conditions don’t quell concern over Class I price formula - Progressive Dairy \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45216-changing-market-conditions-don-t-quell-concern-over-class-i-price-formula.md) | -0.4% | +7.9% |

## Sources

- cheesereporter.com: https://cheesereporter.com/editorial-comment/2024/12/20/dry-whey-in-class-iii-formula-remains-problematic/

---
Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.