# Benchmark Drops $1.65 By Lee Mielke | TheFencePost.com

> The USDA announced the February Federal order Class III milk price at $17.78/cwt, down $1.65 from January and the lowest since September 2021. The February Class IV price fell to $18.86, and the January milk-to-feed price ratio dropped to 1.73, the lowest since August 2022.

- Date: 2023-03-10 · published 2023-03-10T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/37017-benchmark-drops-1-65-by-lee-mielke-thefencepost-com
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Low milk prices and a weak milk-feed ratio reduce dairy producers' ability to pay for feed, which can weigh on dairy feed demand and rations.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: neutral
- MILK: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2022-08-12 | [Benchmark drops $1.81 \| TheFencePost.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40201-benchmark-drops-1-81-thefencepost-com.md) | -0.2% | -1.7% |
| MILK | 2022-09-09 | [Benchmark drops $2.42 \| TheFencePost.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39723-benchmark-drops-2-42-thefencepost-com.md) | +0.2% | +11.7% |
| MILK | 2018-12-14 | [Benchmark milk price drops $1.09 \| TheFencePost.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61716-benchmark-milk-price-drops-1-09-thefencepost-com.md) | +0.5% | +2.2% |
| MILK | 2025-11-19 | [Benchmark drops 68 cents \| TheFencePost.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22109-benchmark-drops-68-cents-thefencepost-com.md) | -0.2% | -8.1% |
| MILK | 2021-01-08 | [Benchmark milk price plummets \| TheFencePost.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/49313-benchmark-milk-price-plummets-thefencepost-com.md) | -3.7% | -7.2% |
| CORN | 2018-09-12 | [Mielke Market: Milk price up to $14.95 \| News \| lyndentribune.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63187-mielke-market-milk-price-up-to-14-95-news-lyndentribune-com.md) | -2.5% | -0.1% |
| CORN | 2026-10-16 | [French maize harvest 92% complete by Oct 12, soft wheat sowings at 15% \| MarketScreener](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17065-french-maize-harvest-92-complete-by-oct-12-soft-wheat-sowings-at-15.md) | -1.2% | — |
| CORN | 2017-01-23 | [Looking at the numbers from 2016 crops](https://feedsoft.ai/events/72838-looking-at-the-numbers-from-2016-crops.md) | -0.4% | +0.5% |

## Sources

- thefencepost.com: https://www.thefencepost.com/news/benchmark-drops-1-65-by-lee-mielke/

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