Most dairy products had slightly higher production in March.
The National Ag Statistics Service says total cheese output rose 7.6% over February and one-tenth of a percent above March of 2023. Italian style cheese production was up 8.6% from February and 4.4% more than a year ago with 518 million pounds produced. American style cheese production rose 10% over February, but was 2.9% below last year’s March production at 491 million pounds.
Butter production was up 5.5% from February and 1.4% from a year ago with 209 million pounds.
Wisconsin led the nation in Italian-type cheese production during March with 145.4 million pounds followed closely by California, but California made the most Mozzarella cheese with 134 million pounds. Cheddar cheese production continues to be dominated by Wisconsin, which produced more than 60.4 million pounds in March.
Compared to last year, dry whey production rose 3.4%, whey protein concentrate production was up 2.6%, and lactose production was up slightly.
Frozen dairy product production was mostly up in March, with hard ice cream production up 1.4% at 66.1 million gallons. Sherbet production rose 1.3% to 1.88 million gallons. Frozen yogurt was up a tenth of a percent to 3.71 million gallons. Low-fat ice cream production dropped 12.8% to 37.7 million gallons.
Source: Brownfield Ag News