This past week California’s Federal Order No. 51 with the Class III price coming in at $14.44/cwt and Class IV at $15.06/cwt. Under the old system, the California 4b cheese milk prices for November would have been $13.55/cwt. The Class I price for Los Angeles was announced at $17.82, which includes a $2.10 Class I Differential and a 20¢ processor assessment. The new Federal Milk Marketing Order in California appears to be doing what proponents hoped it would do: Bump milk prices. How much more California dairy farmers will see in their milk check remains to be seen. That final blend price depends on the utilization percentage of each of the four classes of milk, among other factors.
