Pay and Feed Prices July 2026
By Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director
Total estimated sales of organic packaged fluid milk for March 2026 show an increase of 5.6% over March 2025 sales, as conventional fluid milk sales in the same month shows an increase of 2.3% over March 2025. April 2026 is not so good, with organic estimated sales at 4% lower than April 2025 and a 0.6% increase in conventional sales over April 2025.The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Market Information Branch published estimated national organic fluid milk product sales for March and April 2026, compiled with data from the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO).
Total US sales of packaged organic fluid milk products were estimated at 272 million pounds in March 2026, with organic Whole Milk sales at 157 million pounds, and sales of organic Fat Reduced Milk at 113 million pounds. In April 2026, total sales of organic packaged milk were 241 million pounds, with sales of organic packaged Whole Milk at 138 million pounds, and sales of organic Fat Reduced Milk at 103 million pounds.
In March 2026, the data shows an increase in sales of Organic Whole Milk packaged fluid products of 10.3% over March 2025, and the April 2026 data shows a decrease in sales of 1.6% over April 2025. There was a 0.1% decrease in Organic Fat Reduced Milk in March 2026 over March 2025, and a 4% decrease in April 2026 over April 2025. Year over year, there is a 0.9% decrease in sales between year-to-date April 2026 and year-to-date 2025.
The average national retail price for organic milk, as recorded by the FMMO in May 2026, decreased to $5.24 per half gallon for Whole Milk and Organic Reduced Fat 2% milk compared to $5.43 in January 2026 but an increase of $0.18 over May 2025. The average national retail price for June 2026 was $5.23 per half gallon compared to $5.24 in June 2025, a tiny decrease of $0.01 year-over-year. The year-to-date, January to June 2026, average retail price for organic half gallon is $5.28, compared to $5.01 in the same period in 2025. There was the usual range in prices for different locations, with a low of $4.17 in Kansas and a high of $6.68 in Pittsburgh, PA. In Syracuse, NY it was $4.52; $5.01 in Boston, MA; $5.55 in Hartford, CT. Of the 30 cities reporting data, 13 had retail prices under $5 and six had retail prices over $6, with 11 in the $5 per half gallon range.
Organic milk and cream are still short in the Northeast and nationally, with spot prices reported in the $55-60/cwt range for fluid milk. Buyers are paying premiums to assist transition nationally, which is becoming attractive for herds that have the land to transition to pasture. Buyers are increasingly dropping producers further away from plants, heightened by the recent increases in diesel. Fuel surcharges are everywhere, or additional ones for those companies that never stopped charging since the previous shortage in 2022. With the dynamic competition for organic milk, producers need to assure themselves that the company they are signing with has the capacity for a prolonged time to ensure milk pick-up and stable pricing. The demand for conventional milk is testing the limits of processing facilities in the West, while Rumiano is proactively seeking additional sources of organic milk to meet growing needs.
Pay Price is ranging from an annualized average of $35/cwt to $45/cwt for grain and pasture fed organic dairies, with Grass Fed organic certified dairies Pay Price ranging from $38/cwt up to $50+/cwt. Grass Fed A2A2 regenerative organic certification herds are in the $50 to $60 range.
Estimated Fluid Milk Products Sales Reports
|
Product Name |
Sales of Organic Fluid Milk |
Change from |
||
|
|
March 2026 |
2026 Year to date |
March 2025 |
Year to date -2025 |
|
Million pounds |
Percent |
|||
|
Organic Whole Milk |
157 |
443 |
10.3% |
5.5% |
|
Flavored Whole milk |
1 |
2 |
31.5% |
36.0% |
|
Organic Reduced-Fat Milk (2%) |
82 |
242 |
1.1% |
-2.8% |
|
Organic Low-Fat Milk (1%) |
16 |
46 |
-8.4% |
-16.5% |
|
Organic Fat-Free Milk Skim |
10 |
29 |
-2.3% |
-8.7% |
|
Organic Flavored Fat-Reduced Milk |
6 |
13 |
14.6% |
-20.8% |
|
Other Fluid Organic Milk Products |
0 |
0 |
-100% |
-87.5% |
|
Total Fat Reduced Milk |
113 |
329 |
-0.1% |
-6.3% |
|
Total Organic Milk Products |
272 |
774 |
5.6% |
-0.1% |
|
|
||||
|
Product Name |
Sales of Organic Fluid Milk |
Change from |
||
|
|
April 2026 |
2026 Year to date |
April 2025 |
Year to date -2025 |
|
|
Million pounds |
Percent |
||
|
Organic Whole Milk |
138 |
581 |
-1.6% |
3.7% |
|
Flavored Whole milk |
1 |
3 |
37.6% |
36.4% |
|
Organic Reduced-Fat Milk (2%) |
75 |
317 |
-7.40% |
-4.00% |
|
Organic Low-Fat Milk (1%) |
15 |
61 |
-3.4% |
-13.6% |
|
Organic Fat-Free Milk Skim |
8 |
37 |
-15.1% |
-10.2% |
|
Organic Flavored Fat-Reduced Milk |
4 |
17 |
-15.3% |
-14.1% |
|
Other Fluid Organic Milk Products |
0 |
0 |
-100.0% |
-91.0% |
|
Total Fat Reduced Milk |
103 |
432 |
-6.8% |
-6.4% |
|
Total Organic Milk Products |
241 |
1,016 |
-4.0% |
-0.9% |
Data may not add due to rounding to the nearest million pounds
Federal Milk Marketing Order 1 (Order) reported that, in April 2026, fluid Organic Milk packaged and utilized within the Order totaled 33.69 million pounds; lower than the April 2025 total of 35.86 million pounds. In April 2026, sales of Organic Whole Milk packaged in the Order were 18.96 million pounds, 1.31 million pounds lower than April 2025. In April 2026, sales of Organic Reduced Fat Milk packaged and utilized in the Order were 14.73 million pounds, 0.86 million pounds lower than April 2025. Total Class 1 milk (both conventional and organic) packaged outside the Order, but sold within the Order, increased by 12.16 million pounds in April 2026 over April 2025 to 151.02 million pounds. Stonyfield/US Lactalis, UNC Dairy (Upstate Niagara) and other plants that process non-Class 1 products are not included in this data.
In May 2026, sales of fluid Organic Milk packaged and utilized within the Order totaled 35.39 million pounds, higher than the previous year of 34.85 million pounds, a small increase of 0.54 million pounds. In May 2026, sales of Organic Whole Milk packaged in the Order were 19.22 million pounds, slightly less than the May 2025 19.41 million pounds. In May 2026, sales of Organic Reduced Fat Milk packaged and utilized in the Order were 16.17 million pounds, 0.72 million pounds higher than in May 2025. Packaged organic and conventional milk coming into the Order in May 2026 increased by 5.71 million pounds over the same period in 2025. Year to date, May 2026, there has been 57.32 million pounds more of packaged milk coming into the order than in the same period in 2025.
|
UTILIZATION OF ORGANIC FLUID MILK PRODUCTS (Class 1) (Million pounds) in FMMO 1 (Northeast) not including packaged product out of order |
|||||||
|
Month |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2026 |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2025 |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2024 |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2023 |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2022 |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2021 |
Fluid retail Organic Milk 2020 |
|
Jan |
38.50 |
34.31 |
34.93 |
37.00 |
29.14 |
31.32 |
23.93 |
|
Feb |
37.57 |
29.46 |
31.50 |
31.65 |
33.65 |
31.56 |
26.69 |
|
March |
40.10 |
37.70 |
34.82 |
37.37 |
31.56 |
31.87 |
27.90 |
|
April |
33.69 |
35.86 |
35.68 |
31.51 |
33.23 |
28.97 |
29.35 |
|
May |
35.39 |
34.85 |
38.95 |
36.24 |
30.49 |
29.72 |
28.25 |
|
June |
|
35.08 |
31.51 |
34.59 |
31.53 |
28.41 |
26.90 |
|
July |
|
36.09 |
35.54 |
31.15 |
29.44 |
25.50 |
26.70 |
|
Aug |
|
32.69 |
34.07 |
33.75 |
32.12 |
27.18 |
24.70 |
|
Sept |
|
37.57 |
31.72 |
28.32 |
35.00 |
30.26 |
29.70 |
|
Oct |
|
36.46 |
29.62 |
33.54 |
34.83 |
29.47 |
25.78 |
|
Nov |
|
36.94 |
30.48 |
31.19 |
31.13 |
31.07 |
24.47 |
|
Dec |
|
41.65 |
33.34 |
33.56 |
33.78 |
31.36 |
28.13 |
|
Annual |
|
428.66 |
402.16 |
399.87 |
385.90 |
356.68 |
322.50 |
There are 3 other FMMO’s that publish reports on the volume of Class 1 organic packaged milk in their Order, two of which report how much is ‘exported’ to other Orders. In April 2026, of the 241 million pounds packaged and sold as Class 1 organic milk in the US, 48.57 million pounds were from Order 32 (Central), of which 43.61 million pounds were utilized in other Orders. FMMO order 1 (Northeast) packaged 33.69 million pounds of organic milk in April 2026. FMMO 51 (California), packaged 36.85 million pounds, of which 893,541 pounds were sold in other Orders (just over 2% of the total packaged product). Order 33 (Mideast) packages less than Order 1, 32 and 51, with 23.68 million pounds in April 2026. Texas in the Southwest F.O. 126 and the Pacific Northwest F.O. 124 do not publish any breakdown of Class 1 organic milk or any other data on organic milk despite the new dairies coming into production. Of the 242 million pounds of organic packaged milk recorded nationally by FMMO and aggregated by the AMS Dairy Program Market Information Branch, approximately 98 million pounds are not accounted for (about 40%) in the individual FMMO’s public reports. We have no independent record of how much organic milk is produced that is used in products other than Class 1.
|
UTILIZATION OF ORGANIC FLUID MILK PRODUCTS AND CREAM BY POOL PLANT (Million pounds) in FMMO 32 (Central) |
||||||||
|
Month |
2026 |
2026 sold out of order 32 |
2025 |
2025 out of Order |
2024 |
2024 out of order |
2023 |
2023 out of order |
|
January |
52.72 |
46.81 |
55.36 |
48.77 |
56.23 |
49.82 |
55.21 |
48.70 |
|
February |
49.91 |
44.97 |
47.93 |
42.49 |
51.88 |
46.12 |
49.11 |
43.63 |
|
March |
48.25 |
43.13 |
50.05 |
43.78 |
53.96 |
46.29 |
52.73 |
45.44 |
|
April |
48.57 |
46.61 |
47.65 |
42.20 |
54.13 |
48.09 |
49.18 |
43.53 |
|
May |
46.57 |
41.21 |
48.28 |
42.58 |
51.32 |
45.51 |
48.21 |
42.78 |
|
June |
|
|
44.98 |
39.66 |
52.56 |
47.04 |
45.20 |
39.63 |
|
July |
|
|
50.18 |
43.93 |
52.68 |
47.04 |
48.45 |
42.75 |
|
August |
|
|
46.74 |
41.32 |
55.63 |
49.37 |
48.47 |
42.85 |
|
September |
|
|
49.37 |
43.62 |
50.68 |
45.27 |
48.76 |
43.18 |
|
October |
|
|
51.94 |
46.26 |
50.36 |
44.47 |
49.73 |
42.48 |
|
November |
|
|
46.75 |
41.76 |
48.04 |
42.04 |
49.60 |
44.12 |
|
December |
|
|
53.76 |
47.58 |
53.98 |
47.21 |
54.17 |
48.10 |
|
Total |
|
|
592.99 |
523.94 |
631.45 |
558.25 |
598.82 |
527.18 |
The USDA AMS Market News Vermont Report has published data since November 2023. The reported weighted average Pay Price for the first quarter in 2026 was $41.67/cwt, with a monthly range of $40.05/cwt to a maximum of $42.62/cwt (does not include any deductions for hauling). The average daily production per cow, for 2025, was 46.65 lbs./cow and for the first quarter 2026 it was 52.72 lbs. The weighted average Pay Price for March 2026 was $40.05/cwt. with daily production of 51.01lbs.
The USDA AMS Market News Pennsylvania Report shows a weighted average Pay Price was $43.62/cwt for first quarter 2026, with a monthly range of $41.21/cwt to a maximum of $45.39/cwt (does not include any deductions for hauling). The average daily production per cow for 2025 was 31.35 pounds, and for the first quarter of 2026 it was 27.89 pounds. The weighted average Pay Price for March 2026 was $41.21/cwt. with an average daily production of 28.28lbs.
Organic Milk Exports
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) releases monthly export data which includes export volumes and values for organic milk categorized as HS-10 code 0401201000, milk and cream, not concentrated nor sweetened, of a fat content, by weight, exceeding 1% but not exceeding 6%, certified organic. The data from March 2026 shows that organic milk HS-10 exports were 11,571 cwt., an increase of 4,650 cwt. over the same month in 2025. April 2026 data showed exports of 8,345 cwt., a decrease of 3,046 cwt. over April 2025. Year-to-date April 2026 total exported milk was 35,140 cwt, an 11.6% drop on the same period in 2025. None of this milk is subject to tariffs under the USMCA and any increase will still fall below the level where current agreements mandate tariffs being added.
Auction News
There were no published sales of organic cows and heifers at the Premier Livestock and Auctions, Withee, WI in April and June 2026. Organic cull cows remained constant at $155/cwt and calf prices remain consistently high.
At Hoskins Livestock Auction, New Berlin, NY in May and June 2026, the average price range for organic cattle hasn’t changed much: Certified Organic Market Cows- High Yielding Cows: $134-182 per cwt. - Low Yielding Cows: $144 and down per cwt. Milking age organic cows varied from a high of $3,800 each to a low of $2,125 with organic bred heifers at $2,675 and open heifers at $1,875.
APHIS Updates Guidance on movement of cattle.
Effective April 2026, lactating dairy cattle moving interstate from States with Unaffected State Status under the National Milk Testing Strategy are no longer required to be tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 prior to movement. To maintain Unaffected State Status requires ongoing testing and surveillance activities to confirm the absence of HPAI in the State’s dairy herds.
Screwworm establishment in the northeast is much less likely than in warmer southern regions. The greatest risk to the region comes from the movement of infested animals from affected areas rather than natural spread. Producers know where their livestock comes from and take more precautions if they were recently transported from the South or from areas under animal health restrictions. Canada and at least 12 states have some form of import bans, quarantines, or enhanced entry biosecurity for livestock arriving from impacted areas. These include Pennsylvania, New York, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Montana, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. Even though the current risk is low, early detection matters. Producers should monitor animals for unusual wounds, wounds that worsen rapidly, foul odor, visible maggots, or signs of pain and irritation, and contact a veterinarian if they see anything suspicious. For those producers that find themselves in an affected area and want to take selected animals (young stock, dry cows) off pasture or into areas that they can more closely observe them, there is already a provision within the organic regulations to do that. The provision is in 7 CFR 205.238, Mammalian and non-avian livestock living conditions. This section requires that all animals must have year-round access to the outdoors, except that they may be temporarily confined in certain situations. One of these conditions (listed in paragraph (b)(3)) is when the health, safety, and well-being of the animal could be jeopardized. An active screwworm quarantine would qualify as jeopardizing the health, safety, and well-being of an animal.
Organic Feed
Data from USDA for the Northeast has organic feed corn delivered to the elevator increasing in price (and probably in trucking to a farm) with the price averaging $14.31 per bushel in May and $15.00 in June 2026. Organic feed soybean delivered to the elevator averaged $26/bu. in May and June 2026. Organic feed wheat averaged $10.50/bushel in May and June 2026. Soybean meal was trading at $934/ton in May and $944/ton in June 2026, with consistent demand. I have no accurate information on the price of hay, which depends on availability and expensive trucking. Buy regionally as soon as possible. Hay availability in the US is affected by prolonged drought in many areas.
The US Drought Monitor reports for the Northeast that areas from eastern Massachusetts into Maine experienced temperatures 8–10 degrees above normal. Much of West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, western New York, and portions of New England also received above-normal precipitation. Rainfall in Maine allowed for improvements to moderate drought across much of the state but moderate drought expanded in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and eastern New York, while severe drought now encompasses all of Long Island. Extreme drought expanded farther north in Delaware and into additional areas of eastern Maryland.
Attached Files:
Posted: to Organic Pay, Feed & Grain Prices on Sat, Jul 4, 2026
Updated: Sat, Jul 4, 2026