Uncle Sam Has a Plan for 11M Pounds of Excess Cheese

The National Milk Producers Federation wanted the government to buy $100 million to $150 million in cheese.

The USDA said they will be distributing the purchased cheese through food banks and other nutrition assistance programs.

Local dairy farmers have been complaining about the low prices, due in part to the highest cheese surplus in 30 years.

This isn’t the first time the USA has reported a growing cheese-surplus problem.

Nearly 5 million kilograms of cheese will be bought from private makers at a cost of $US20 million ($26 million) in an effort to bolster the country’s dairy industry.

Vilsack, in his statement, said the agency continues looking “for ways within its authority to tackle food insecurity and provide for added stability in the marketplace”. But the cheese market as a whole may be affected as a slow market, too much milk and fewer buyers are impacting revenue, which has seen a 35 percent dip since 2014.

The move comes as USA cheese producers struggle with an oversupply problem and prices that have fallen more than 35 percent in the past two years.

Dairy producers in Iowa and across the country are getting some help from the U.S.D.A.

The USDA uses commodities it purchases in government-sponsored programs such as food banks, soup kitchens and the school lunch program.

Earlier this month, the USDA announced almost $11.2 million in financial assistance for USA dairy farmers enrolled in the Margin Protection Program (MPP) for Dairy – the largest payment since the program was set up in 2014.

In Consumer Matters, help is on the way for dairy farmers struggling with declining milk prices. More than 1,200 family dairy farms went out of business in 2015. “NFU appreciates USDA’s continued commitment to dairy producers, especially within a very tight budget”, said Johnson. Production has increased 3 percent in the past year, and 29 percent in the last decade.

Gould said changes on the world dairy market and low feed costs this fall could help improve prices in the coming months. Giving farmers until December 16 to adjust their coverage levels for calendar year 2017 will help increase the opportunity for dairy farmers to utilize this crucial risk management tool.