Milk price at $16.88; trouble clouds ahead

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Dec. 1 the November Federal Order Class III benchmark milk price at $16.88 per hundredweight, up 19 cents from October and 12 cents above November 2016. It equates to $1.45 per gallon. But Class III futures settlements portend tough times ahead. California’s November 4b cheese milk price is…