News

Dairy product production up in August

U.S. processors made more dairy products in August than they did a year ago.  USDA’s latest production report shows total cheese production was 1.2 billion pounds, 1.7% higher than 2023 and half of a percent higher than July of this year.

Italian type cheeses totaled 499 million pounds, which was 3.1% higher than a year ago and six-tenths of a percent higher than July.  American type cheeses totaled 478 million pounds, down three-tenths of a percent from last year but up 1.8% from July.

U.S. butter production was 159 million pounds in August, down three percent from the previous month but 14 and a half percent higher than August of 2023.

Nonfat dry milk production for August was 115 million pounds, 2.2% higher than last year.  Skim milk powder production reached 50.3 million pounds, which was 29.4% lower than 2023.

Dry whey production totaled 65.5 million pounds in August, which was down 21.6% from a year ago.  Lactose production was up 3.5% to 95.6 million pounds.  Whey protein concentrate production rose 1.7% to 41.5 million pounds.

Regular hard ice cream, sherbet, and frozen yogurt production all went up compared to August of 2023 while low-fat ice cream production dropped nearly 9%.