Milk Prices – Historical Graph
Real-time chart of historical daily milk prices. The prices are down in U.S. dollars per CWT.
- The average price in the past 3 days is
- The average price in the past 7 days is
- The average price in the past 30 days is
- The average price in the past 365 days is
Popular questions about milk prices:
Milk Prices Explained
As you can see milk prices are fluctuating. But why is that? And is there a way to predict the price of milk?
Why are milk prices fluctuating?
Milk prices are getting volatile in the market recently. It is quite evident in the weekly and monthly price variation. Here are the top contributing factors:
1. Supply and Demand
For years, the market has seen an imbalanced supply and demand of milk. In 2022, the market value of milk increased to 39%, an equivalent of $7.40 per hundredweight.
Experts believe that it will continue to rise as milk demand is getting higher.
2. Seasonal Variations
The spike in milk prices is particularly high during winter months as cows produce less milk in this season resulting in low production and increased demand.
3. Butter and Dry Products
The increasing demand for butter and other milk powder products is paving the way for a milk price hike as natural milk is the key ingredient in making butter and other dry processed dairy products.
4. Declining Milk Supply
The USDA reported a steep decline in cow numbers to 134,000 numbers from May to December 2020 causing a 0.1% decrease in milk production.
This opened a $1.19 higher milk increase price in the first quarter of 2022.
5. Production Costs
The declining milking capacity of cows due to increasing feed value, labor, and transportation costs resulted in a large exit of dairy farmers in 2020.
This created a huge gap in milk production efficiency and keep milk price hikes.
Which variables impact the price of milk?
- Supply and Demand
- Weather Conditions
- Input Costs
- Government Policies
- Global Market Conditions
- Milk Production and Processing Technologies
Where did the milking process originate?
Milking is an ancient practice to extract milk from cows. This practice is a reliable source of food and an essential substitute for crops, especially in places where crop cultivation is hard.
The milking process started in the Neolithic age, specifically in Britain and Northern Europe according to unearthed potshards discovered by scientists.
The introduction of cattle to Baja California in 1679 by the Spanish Jesuit Priest, Eusebio Kino made way for cattle farming. In the early 19th century, milk production started growing across the US state along with the alcohol distillery business.
Today, 24% of global milk production comes from India, the largest milk producer in the world followed distantly by the US, Pakistan, Brazil, China, and Russia.
When is the milk season?
Milk production is constant throughout the year however, there are specific recorded seasons where supply and demand are its lowest and highest.
In the US, milk production is at its peak in spring and early summer months as the favorable weather conditions provide plenty of grazing grass and longer daylight which are essential to increased milk production.
Conversely, milk production decreases in fall and winter due to less access to fresh pasture and shorter daylight.
In India, milk production is at its highest from November to February, the cooler months of the year. This period helps cows achieve their optimal milk production which is good for the Indian dairy industry.