Montana's pool marketing system establishes how pool dairies are compensated for milk. The program announces minimum prices prior to the month of production. Pool handlers report milk receipts and utilization information by the 8th day following the month of production; after which, the program uses the information to calculate quota and excess prices and calculate minimum amounts to be paid to pool producers.

The following charts provide perspective on the volume of pool production, annual value of pool milk sold to pool handlers, and annual average unit price paid for pool production from Fiscal Year 2016 through Fiscal Year 2025. Fiscal Year 2025 continued the downward trend in pooling production from the last decade. Over the long term, the unit value of production has generally trended upward and reflected milk prices but in Fiscal Year 2024 the price fell sharply. The price in Fiscal Year 2025 ended with an increase over the Fiscal Year 2024 price decline.