Class III milk prices in 2013 were the third highest in history, adding to a string of recent producer income records that is likely to continue in 2014.
Last week's announcement of the $18.95 per hundredweight December price pushed the 2013 average to $17.99. As seen in the table below, that's the third highest ever and the fifth time in seven years it has been over $17. By comparison, 2004 was the first time the Class III average exceeded $15.
Yearly Class III price average since 2006:
2006 $11.89
2007 $18.04
2008 $17.44
2009 $11.36
2010 $14.41
2011 $18.37
2012 $17.44
2013 $17.99
2014 $18.26 (CME futures price average on 1/3/14)
At least on the income side of things, dairy producers couldn't ask for much more lately. The last three years, in fact, have been far and away the best three-year period for milk prices ever, averaging $17.93.
And 2014 is on pace to be even better. Closing Class III futures prices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on January 3 averaged a robust $18.26, which would be the second highest in history if they hold up.
Equally encouraging is the month-to-month price strength that CME traders foresee: No individual month is currently lower than $17.46.
