Milk Control Program

Pooling & Auditing

STATEWIDE POOLING
The dairy industry in Montana is currently under a statewide pooling system and quota plan. The statewide pooling system is a method used to pay the producers for the milk they produce in a uniform manner. All receipts of Montana milk are calculated by Milk Control Program through a program that calculates what each producer will be paid monthly. The quota plan is a part of the pooling system. Each producer has daily quota, either established by production records or purchased from another producer. Their daily quota is owned by them. Milk Control Program maintains records of each producer's daily quota, and also tracks the buying and selling of daily quota among producers.

POOLING REPORTS

The Producers' Pooling Report consists of the following information from monthly pooling calculations:

• Quota & Excess Price Determination for Montana
• Producer Pool Information Sheet
  • Cost/Profit breakdown for out-of-state surplus milk sales
  • Export & import of bulk milk
  • Presentation of average quota and excess prices at 3.5% test, and related information
• Utilization of producer milk delivered to Montana pool plants - tables (by weight and by percentage of class of utilization)

Download Producer Pooling Reports here:

• Pooling Report - March 2024 (PDF)
• Pooling Report - February 2024 (PDF)

QUOTA PRICE ESTIMATOR TOOL
The Milk Control Program developed a spreadsheet that estimates quota prices and dairy revenue prior to pooling. The spreadsheet was created to serve as a tool to estimate quota and excess (over quota) prices. It can also be used to estimate a dairy’s revenue for the month of the estimate. The Montana Department of Livestock, the Montana Board of Livestock, the Montana Milk Control Program, the Montana Board of Milk Control, and its staff are not responsible for any use of, misuse of, or reliance on this estimator. 

In order to use the spreadsheet, you will need to read a disclaimer in the spreadsheet and type YES or select YES in an orange cell (box) in the Dairy Revenue Estimator worksheet. After this you will be able to see the estimated quota price. To estimate a dairy’s revenue for the month, enter daily quota (lbs/day), estimated daily production (lbs/day), and estimated dairy butterfat content (%) in yellow cells (boxes) in the Dairy Revenue Estimator worksheet. To see the assumptions and calculations behind the estimate, view the Quota Price Estimator worksheet. 

Shortly after the publication of price announcements for the announced month, an estimate will be issued for the corresponding month. Milk Control Program may, at its own discretion, update the estimate following the pooling of the month prior to the estimate. For example, the estimate for July 2016 might be adjusted following the pooling of June 2016.

• April 2024 Quota Price Estimator
• March 2024 Quota Price Estimator

AUDITING
The Milk Control Program is instructed by law to verify the utilization of all milk reported in Montana, exported and imported. Audits are performed on the pooling of selected months to test information provided in distributor reports and test the performance of the pooling calculations.