The July 2026 Dairy Market Watch provides an overview of dairy market trends affecting producers in the Northeast Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO #1). As is typical during peak summer production, milk component percentages declined in July, with Northeast butterfat averaging 4.21% (up 2.7% year-over-year) and protein at 3.19% (up 1.9% year-over-year), both slightly outpacing the smaller gains seen in the U.S. average. On the pricing side, the Statistical Uniform Price (SUP) less Producer Price Differential (PPD) fell to $16.71 per cwt., while the PPD itself, at $5.64 in Suffolk County, MA, pushed the full SUP to $22.35, over a dollar lower than June due to declining Class III prices. Fluid milk utilization rose across most classes except Class II, with Class III overtaking Class II as the largest utilization category. Notably, July 2026 set several records, including the highest total producer milk receipts, Class II utilization, average daily delivery per producer, and average butterfat and protein tests, along with the second-highest PPD in Order history. Product-level data show yogurt, whole milk, cottage cheese, and butter utilization increased year-over-year, while ice cream and dried milk products declined. The report is authored by Lainey Koval and draws on FMMO and USDA Market News data.
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