Normand St-Pierre, Dairy Extension Specialist
The May Basic Formula Price (BFP) plunged to $10.88, down $1.13 from the April BFP. This BFP will place average pay prices for Ohio milk producers in the low $12 per cwt. range. The BFP drop was considerably more than what most economists were expecting. There has to be a reason for the sharpness of the drop, but I haven't heard a very convincing one yet.
Before you get discouraged, you should also know that recent cheese prices have surged dramatically. Block cheese on the Chicago Mercantile climbed 14 cents the first week of June. So the low milk prices should be out of the picture come July 4th. BFP futures contracts are also up, with July and August contracts near $14/cwt.
Your guesses for milk prices this fall are as good as mine.