This August 2026 Dairy Market Watch report from Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY examines component production, pricing, and utilization trends in the Northeast Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO #1) compared to national averages. After reaching a low in July, component production increased in August, with Northeast butterfat averaging 4.24% (up 2.4% year-over-year) and protein at 3.23% (up 1.6% 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) increased to 3.61 in Suffolk County, MA—pushed the full SUP to $21.05, over a dollar lower than July due to changes in class prices and a lower PPD. Fluid milk utilization rose for Class II and Class I, with Class II overtaking Class III as the largest utilization category. Notably, August 2026 set several records for the month, including the highest total producer milk receipts, Class II utilization, average daily delivery per producer, and average butterfat and protein tests. Product-level data show yogurt, cottage cheese, butter and cheese utilization increased year-over-year. The report is authored by Lainey Koval and draws on FMMO and USDA Market News data.
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