The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) have released the December Dairy Market Report.

U.S. dairy exports continue to improve. Export volumes were up during August–October compared to a year earlier for most major product categories. Nonfat dry milk and dry whey prices have been rising due to an improving world market for dairy ingredients. This has helped lift U.S. producer milk prices,starting from when they bottomed out in May. However, the average all-milk price dropped by 70 cents a hundredweight from September to October, mostly due to a drop in Class III and Class IV prices as domestic butter and cheese prices became somewhat volatile heading into the holiday season. The bimonthly margin under the Margin Protection Program (MPP) for the September-October period was $9.16 per hundredweight.