Wisconsin Ag Connection - State Cheese Output Rises for 24 Consecutive Months

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State Cheese Output Rises for 24 Consecutive Months
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 11/04/2016

Wisconsin dairy processors have now seen two full years of consecutive monthly increases in total cheese production. The USDA reports that the state's dairy plants produced 258.8 million pounds of cheese in September--which was up 3.3 percent from the same month last year, but 0.9 percent less than this past August (which had more days on the calendar). This marks the 24th straight month where monthly output exceeded year-to-year levels.

Nationally, about 981 million pounds of cheese was produced in the United States. That was 1.6 percent more than the same month in 2015, but 1.8 percent below the previous month's production totals.

Wisconsin's production of American cheese increased as the state produced 72.8 million pounds, about 1.4 percent more than last year, and 1.7 percent above last month's production. Cheddar output also rose by 6.5 percent compared to 2015 to total 49.1 million pounds, and was up 2.5 percent from the month earlier. Italian cheese was at 131.2 million pounds, about 6.4 percent above last year, but was 3.0 percent lower for the month. And Mozzarella produced in Wisconsin totaled 87 million pounds--about 4.6 percent more than September 2015, but down 5.4 percent compared to August 2016.

Dry Whey output in Wisconsin was recorded at 23.3 million pounds, which was down 5.3 percent from last year, and six percent less than last month.

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