How Much has the Ratio of Milk Protein to Butterfat Changed?
How to manage the Increase in butterfat is a prime topic. We are short on butterfat for butter production, and we have excess butterfat for cheese making. This post will cover the change in the protein to butterfat ratio in each of the Federal Orders over the last five years. The data for protein is […]
The Impact of “Beef on Dairy”
The dairy industry is amazing in advancing technology to keep production profitable and consumer prices reasonable. Prior posts have covered improved milk per cow, higher levels of butterfat and protein, hybrid cows to enhance productivity, changes in fluid milk to increase consumption, transfer of butterfat from cheese makers milk and relocating it to butter churners, […]
INFLATION – Are Retail Prices of Dairy Products Increasing?
Retail inflation of the major dairy products was covered six months ago in a post to this site . A lot has happened since then. This post will cover the U.S. food index, and cheese, whole milk, and butter Inflation. CONSUMER FOOD PRICE INDEX The price of food has continued its increase. Chart I below […]
An Overall View of Supply and Demand for Butterfat
There is a lot of talk in the dairy industry concerning butterfat. Some say the U.S. is producing too much butterfat and others say we need to produce more before our supply and demand reaches a balance. Butterfat is a major ingredient in cheese, butter, and fluid milk. In 2024 and 2025 some butterfat had […]
Is It a Good Year for Dairy? YES!
The post below covers the volume trends for seven key analytics of the dairy industry. All charts cover the last five years and are calculated as 12-month moving averages to best display trends. How is the U.S. dairy industry doing in 2025? GREAT! This post will start with milk production (Chart I). The current […]
The Long-Term Changes in the Price of Butterfat and Protein
The prior post reviewed the recent drop in butter and butterfat values. The high values for butterfat have encouraged significant increases in U.S. production of butter. While production of butterfat has increased significantly, the volume of milk protein has increased only slightly. The values of butterfat and milk protein have also been impacted by […]
An Update on Butterfat Supply and Pricing
For four years butterfat has been the largest revenue source for dairy producers. The value of butterfat began increasing in 2022 and reached a record price of $3.71 per pound in late 2023. In 2024 and 2025 the price began declining (Chart I). Because butterfat is the largest contributor to producer and processor revenue, the […]
Fluid Milk Continues to Grow
Fluid milk for drinking was the leading dairy product in the 1900’s. Since then, sales have dropped every year until 2024. Because fluid milk is a saturated fat it was considered a possible contributor to clogging arteries. With changes in the medical field, dairy products have now been classified as being a healthy product providing […]
Why is California Class IV Milk Being De-Pooled?
At the conclusion of the prior post, de-pooling of California Class IV milk in July was mentioned. Despite the effort to reduce de-pooling with higher Class I differentials, the practice of de-pooling Class IV milk in California continues (Chart I). This post will explain why this occurred and why it will continue. Chart I – […]
Can The New USDA Formula Implemented in June Reduce De-pooling?
The Northeast Federal Order has done a good job of minimizing de-pooling in their Order (See the charts in a recent Post). Additionally, the USDA changes implemented in June will make it difficult to gain any benefits by de-pooling in all 11 Federal Milk Orders. This post will cover the USDA changes to minimize de-pooling […]
