Record U.S. cheese output is hurting exports

This column was written for the marketing week ending April 7.

The March Federal order Class III benchmark milk price crept higher this week, propelled by higher cheese, butter, and dry whey prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the price at $18.10 per hundredweight, up 32 cents from February, but $4.35 below March 2022. The first quarter average stands at $18.44, down from $21.25 a year ago, and compares to $15.98 in 2021.

By Lee Mielke

lion pounds, down 9.1% from January but up 2.4 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date at 951.8 million pounds, up 4.1 percent. Mozzarella totaled 365 million pounds, down 7.1 percent from January, but up 1.6 percent from a year ago. Year-to-date, at 758.1 million, was up 0.5 percent.