USDA’s latest supply and demand estimates say the U.S. will produce more cows, more milk, and more production in July.
More cows plus more milk-per-cow have put milk production forecasts for this year and next higher.
USDA projects July milk production will be 228.3 billion pounds, up from 227.8 billion in June. Looking ahead to 2026, USDA expects July milk production will be 229.1 billion pounds.
The 2025 all-milk price is forecast higher at $22.00 per hundredweight. For 2026, the all milk price estimate is raised to $21.65 per hundredweight. Class III milk primarily used for cheesemaking and whey products is at $18.50 per hundredweight for July. Next July’s forecasted price is $17.85. Class IV milk, used mostly for butter and nonfat dry milk is priced at $19.05 per hundredweight for July, and $18.60 for July of 2026.
For 2025, commercial dairy exports are raised on both a fat and skim-solids basis, primarily on increased shipments of cheese and dried skim milk products. For 2026, commercial exports are also raised on both a fat and skim-solids basis.
Commercial imports for 2025 are lowered on a fat basis but increased on a skim-solids basis. For 2026, fat basis imports are raised while skim-solids basis imports are lowered. For 2025, the price forecast for cheese is lowered on recent prices. Butter, nonfat dry milk (NDM), and whey prices are increased from the previous month’s forecast based on robust demand.
