# COUNTRY LIFE: Benchmark drops 88 cents from September

> USDA set the October Class III milk price at $15.16 per hundredweight, down 88 cents from September and the lowest since February. September US milk output rose 2.6% year over year, while the dairy herd grew to 9.743 million cows, its largest size since 1993.

- Date: 2026-11-11 · published 2026-11-11T12:10:50.029Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/93414-country-life-benchmark-drops-88-cents-from-september
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Rising cow numbers and output are expanding milk supply, weighing on Class III prices. The reported October price fell, although the higher Class IV price shows strength in some dairy-product markets.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | 2024-05-07 | [Lee Mielke: Benchmark drops 84 cents \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7591-lee-mielke-benchmark-drops-84-cents-capital-press.md) | +1.5% | +1.1% |
| 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 | 2025-12-15 | [Benchmark creeps up 27 cents \| TheFencePost.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21663-benchmark-creeps-up-27-cents-thefencepost-com.md) | -0.8% | -7.0% |

## Sources

- lyndentribune.com: https://www.lyndentribune.com/news/country-life-benchmark-drops-88-cents-from-september/article_0321e099-8078-44b7-adb9-525754fefb15.html

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