The April Dairy Market Report from the National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Management Inc. is out.

In April, fluid milk sales showed the lowest volume decline in almost a year during November 2016–January 2017. American-type cheese consumption continued to outpace that of other cheeses during the same period. U.S. milk production continued to grow by around 2.5 percent, as cow numbers have crept up. Pressure on cheese prices in the domestic market and stress on skim powder prices in the world market are beginning to show up in the price of milk. USDA’s lower April forecast implies that the 2017 average milk price would be about $1.50 per cwt. above the 2016 average price. At the same time, USDA’s MPP decision tool projected the MPP margin would remain above $8.00 per cwt. for all of 2017.